When You Go
by Living Masquerade
Summary: Natalie doesn't understand why her family has to move back to La Push, but within a matter of days it all becomes clear...a bit too clear. Can she be just friends with Paul as she claims? Or will everyone around her prove her wrong? Paul/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Forever the Sickest Kids**

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"_I should've known better not to wait around  
why did I come home because I hate it here"_

**My Worst Nightmare**

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I still didn't fully understand why we were moving back. When we had moved after eighth grade I had been just fine with the situation; happy in fact. My younger brother had been upset, but I was so eager I had already packed up all my stuff two weeks before the moving trucks were due. So obviously I wasn't too thrilled that my parents had decided to go back.

Of course I didn't have to go back with them, I was twenty one, but I was jobless and that meant that if I wanted food and shelter my only choice was to follow my parents and brother back to La Push.

My seventeen year old brother, Matt, was beyond happy and that was scary enough in itself. For the past few months he had been really weird. He'd shot up five inches, put on some serious muscle, and had a short temper. Hell, one day he practically blew my head off when I asked him to hand me the phone.

After that incident others had followed and just last week Dad had sat us all down and announced that we were moving back into our old house in La Push. We had never really sold the house, but rented it out to a small family that finally earned enough money to buy their own house on the outskirts of Forks.

So that's why I found myself staring blankly around the walls of the bedroom of my youth. It was…pink. The color my mother had picked out when she found out she was having a girl, the color she promised we would change just before we moved away. Well, it seemed I had a project already…getting rid of these pepto bismol walls.

It took me two hours to situate all my crap and as soon as I opened the door to my bedroom the delicious aroma of spaghetti greeted my nostrils. I had barely taken one step out of my room when my brother darted out of his room and down the stairs at a break neck speed. Holy hell, what was with that kid? He ate all the time! I just saw him smuggle two boxes of snack cakes in his room!

I followed at a much slower pace and by the time I reached the table Matt was already stuffing his face full of garlic bread and spaghetti. My parents didn't even bat an eyelash at his behavior. I rolled my eyes and took my own seat, hoping that the retard would leave some for the rest of us.

"Does it feel like home?" Mom asked a bit hopefully, her gaze meeting mine across the table.

"Not really." I replied honestly.

"It will in time."

I didn't reply and instead dug into my own helping of dinner. I hoped it wouldn't come to that. This was just a temporary fix until I was able to actually put my college degree to use. I wasn't about to let four years of my life go down the drain in La Push.

***

"Oh my gosh! Is that you, Natalie?"

I really didn't expect anyone to recognize me. I left when I was an awkward fourteen year old girl complete with baby fat, pimples, and crooked glasses. Now I was a mature woman complete with curves, clear complexion and dark rimmed glasses that accentuated my eyes nicely.

Obviously I didn't expect anyone to recognize me in the grocery store, but sure enough here in the produce section I had been spotted. By none other than…

"Kim?!" I asked equally disbelieving.

Kim had babysat Matt and watched over me since she was really only two years older than me. Last time I had seen her she had been a shy sixteen year old girl, but with a little girl in the front of her cart staring at me with a toothless grin, Kim looked very much grown up. Especially with the simple diamond ring on her finger.

"So it is you." She grinned. "I heard you guys were back, but I wasn't sure if that included you."

"Yeah, I didn't find a job yet so I came back here with them." I shrugged.

She smiled, "It's good to have you guys back. How's your brother?"

"Moody."

"Seventeen right?"

I nodded, "But look at you! You have a toddler!"

Her smile increased as she ran a gentle hand over her daughter's dark hair. "This is Abby. Say hi, Abby."

The little girl smiled bashfully at me through her pacifier which stayed perfectly in her mouth. She was an adorable child and I was sure that when she grew up, she'd be just as beautiful as her mother.

"I married Jared."

"You did!?" My eyes widened.

I remembered how she mooned over him, but he had never returned the feelings. Of course that had been years ago when she was only a sophomore in high school. Well at least it worked out for her; when I was fourteen I had thought she was a bit pathetic.

"Yup…listen we should get together. Right now I've got to get her home for a nap, but don't hesitate to come over. We live next door to my parent's."

I sent her a last smile before she rolled her cart towards the front of the store and then I got out of there before I ran into my old PE coach or something equally as disturbing. But as fate would have it, I didn't escape without running into someone else I used to know.

"Natalie!"

I recognized the voice vaguely. It was a very deep male voice, but within it I heard a voice that I heard a lot in my youth…of course it had been a bit squeaky the last time it had graced my ears. And when I turned around none of my mental images of what I remembered him to look like prepared me for what he did actually look like.

"Holy hell, Jake!"

"Nice to see you too, Nat." He chuckled as he approached me.

I was still in a state of shock, so I just stood there staring at him as he took the grocery bags from my hands and started walking towards my car in the parking lot; the only vehicle that wasn't a truck.

"Are you going to say anything?" He asked as I popped the trunk for him.

"You are definitely not fourteen anymore."

"Like what you see?" Jake grinned.

Jacob Black and I had been pretty close from the time we were in diapers. Sure we had grown apart by the time we were in middle school and he made guy friends, but we had always been on good terms with each other.

"Have you been giving my brother secrets? Because he's headed in the direction you are."

I thought he would laugh at that, but instead he got a thoughtful and concerned look on his face; like he was contemplating something.

"Why did you guys come back?" He finally asked.

"Beats me; Dad just sprung it on us. But right now I need to get back before Matt freaks out about there being no food in the house…such a temper lately. Nice seeing you!"

I sent him a wave and hopped into the car while he just stood there and stared at me. Weird. I shrugged it aside and prepared myself for the assault I was likely to receive as I carried the food into the house.

***

Nothing could have prepared me for this. No sooner had I gotten the bags from the trunk had Matt come charging at me and started to rifle through the bags. I just stood there and watched as stuff spilled out onto the ground as he searched for something to stuff his mouth with. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with him lately?

Then things got worse. After he had sufficiently torn through every bag he looked up at me with anger flashing in his eyes.

"You didn't buy any snack cakes?" He growled…yes growled.

"No I didn't buy your damn snack cakes. You just ate two boxes the other night."

Apparently he did not like my answer because the next thing I knew the sound of cloth tearing filled my ears and a giant ball of fur was standing before me. Holy mother of ham! My brother had just exploded into a wolf!

"MOM!" I screamed as Matt lunged at me…or what I assumed to be Matt anyways.

Of course what could my Mom do about it anyway? If I really wanted to help myself I should have started running, but instead I just stood there and watched as his claws and teeth came closer and closer to my delicate mortal flesh.

Just as one of his claws was about to come down on me another ball of fur crashed into him from the side, pinning him to the ground with a loud thud.

"Natalie! Oh my…what happened?!" Mom shrieked as she ran out of the house and to my side.

I didn't answer; I thought it was pretty obvious what had just gone down. Matt had turned into a wolf and some other wolf had just saved me a lot of pain.

My Mom and I watched as another wolf ran out of the woods and started to make its way to the two on the ground struggling with each other, but before he could reach the two of them he stopped and stared at me. I stared right back; taking in his silver fur and comparing it to the russet and dull brown colors of the other two.

He finally looked away from me and trotted over to the other two. After a minute the two of them had managed to move wolf Matt into the woods, away from our sight.

"Mom, what the hell just happened?" I finally asked as we stared at the spot in the woods they had disappeared into.

"I guess it's time we told you."

***

By the time Dad got home the house was overrun with werewolves. Yes, werewolves. After what happened in the front lawn Mom had taken me inside and explained everything to me, and when I say everything I mean everything. I was on an information overload, but instead of hiding in my room like I wanted to do, I had to play hostess to a pack of hungry wolves. Pun completely intended.

"Natalie! I heard what happened." Kim said as she entered the kitchen where I was mixing up a pitcher of lemonade.

"How do you…?"

"Jared is a werewolf, and I'm his imprint."

"Oh…is he the one in the green shirt?"

"Yeah, but are you okay? I mean you were almost attacked by your brother; I'd be pretty shaken up if I was you."

"More like an information overload. My Mom finally told me what they had been hiding from Matt and me for years." I sighed. "Apparently that's why we moved back; they knew Matt was getting close to phasing."

Kim nodded understandingly and helped me finish mixing the beverages for the pack that was camped out in our living room waiting for Jake and Paul to come back with a somewhat controlled Matt. Sam, the alpha, had already informed us that he wouldn't be staying with us until they were sure he was under control. So in the meantime he'd be staying at Sam's.

"They're here!" Someone shouted.

Sure enough a few minutes later Matt entered the house flanked by the other two. I could tell Matt was in pain but I hardly paid him any attention as my gaze was riveted to the one they had referred to as Paul. It was hard not to look at him, especially when he was looking at me. He was tall and muscular just like the rest of them, but he was so much more attractive to me than the rest of them.

"Whoa, what's going on here?" Jake asked the room as he looked back and forth between Paul and me.

"Holy shit! Paul imprinted!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Panic At the Disco**

**Thanks for the quick and positive reviews. Without those few reviews I doubt I would have updated.**

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"_Things have changed for me, but that's okay I'm on my way"_

**Things Have Changed (That Green Gentleman)**

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Imprint: to mark or fix; a lasting effect.

I threw my dictionary across the room. Dramatic, yes, but I needed some sort of outlet for these…feelings all bottled up inside my body. I couldn't deny the fact that I also felt a pull towards Paul. I knew that I didn't imprint on him in the same manner as he did me, but that didn't change the fact that something had happened for me too.

I did not handle change well, especially when it was all thrown at me at once. In a matter of two days I had moved back into my childhood home, learned my brother was a wolf, was almost attacked by said brother, and imprinted on by another wolf from my brother's new pack. I think I deserved a little aggression; Webster would understand.

At least one good thing had come out of all the chaos. Kim had told me about the position at La Push elementary. Six years ago I had never seen myself as a teacher, but when the time came to declare a major, elementary education had seemed to be the right choice.

"Natalie?" My Mom questioned as she slowly opened the door to my room.

"Come in."

She made her way inside and sat on the edge of my bed before she looked around the room.

"We need to paint this." She stated. "Pink is not your color."

"What did you really come in here for?"

"How do you feel about everything that has happened?"

I smirked, "I always knew there was something animal like about Matt."

"Natalie." She gently scolded. "What about Paul imprinting on you?"

"I don't know him." I shrugged. "Kim told me imprinting is the best thing, but she was infatuated with Jared before he imprinted on her. I hardly know the guy."

"Well you can get to know someone easily, Natalie."

"Thanks Mom, I realize that."

She smiled before she stroked the hair back from my face, "Well, I'll let you get some rest."

"Night Mom."

"Night sweetie."

***

Somehow I found myself at Kim's a week later, Matt in tow. Sam had declared him stable enough to see us and since he knew Jared would be at the house he allowed him to come with me. He was different, but not in a bad way. I guess I would be different too if I exploded into a giant ball of fur.

"I can't believe he imprinted on you." He muttered as we walked up the walkway to Kim's front door.

"Yeah, well join the club."

The door swung open just as we were coming up the steps and Kim appeared in the doorway as Abby rushed out of the house on unsteady legs. I smiled at the little girl's giggling face as she rushed towards Matt and me. I was about to swing her up into my arms to keep her from falling, when Matt's arms beat me to it.

And that's when I saw it; the look of utter devotion on his face. Judging by the gasp to my right I knew that Kim had seen it too.

"Jared!" She yelled.

One point two seconds later Jared was in the doorway taking in the scene before him. His little girl was in the arms of my brother who was staring down at her like she was the most precious thing in the world.

"Son of a bitch! Tell me he didn't!" Jared shouted.

"I'm sorry." Matt said quietly, his eyes never leaving Abby's face. She was looking up at him in wonder and when he smiled down at her, she broke out into a huge grin.

"At least she'll always be protected, Jared." I heard Kim say soothingly to her obviously agitated husband.

"Matt, I think you need to give Abby back to her parents now okay? You'll get to see her again."

I could tell that he really didn't want to, but he passed her over to Kim. Jared shot him a look and a minute later the two of them were headed into the woods for a little man to man conversation leaving Kim, Abby, and I on the porch staring after them.

"Things have certainly become interesting since you guys came back." She smiled.

"This between Matt and Abby-"

"We won't keep him from her, Natalie. But you saw his face; that's what happened to Paul."

***

After the incident with Matt imprinting on Abby I found myself wandering around La Push aimlessly. I didn't really know where I was going, but something inside told me to head North of Kim and Jared's house. My feet already hurt thanks to the flat bottoms of my Chuck Taylor's. Mom was right; these shoes were not good for my feet.

Finally a cabin came into sight. It looked new, but old at the same time. Like it had been built recently with the purpose of making it seem like it had been there for years. Basically it was great. The woods surrounded the two story cabin, sheltering it from the outside world. And the hammock hanging between two trees in the front yard completed the picture.

I was about to investigate the hammock when I heard the whack of an axe from the back of the cabin. Initially I did not want to find out who lived here, but something seemed to push my feet forward in the direction of the sound.

When I rounded the corner of the house it was to see Paul shirtless, sweat glistening on his chest, as he slammed the axe down on a piece of wood, efficiently splitting it into two separate pieces. Holy hell his body was…amazing! He had an eight pack! An eight pack! I had only seen one of those on TV and I was pretty sure they had air brushed that crap.

I swallowed and tried to rein in my surging hormones but then he turned and looked right at me as he mopped the sweat off of his forehead: my knees weakened.

"Um…hi." I said dumbly.

"Natalie." He greeted, his voice practically a caress; shivers raced down my spine.

"I should probably…go."

"Stay."

"Alright."

Well that was entirely too easy. Paul grinned, put down the axe, grabbed his shirt, and walked towards me.

"You know I imprinted on you right?" He asked a bit nervously.

I nodded.

"Do you want to come inside?"

Yet again I nodded, afraid to trust my voice at this moment in time when his glorious body was mere inches away from mine. Well maybe not inches, but he was definitely close enough that I could see a bead of sweat form and roll down the center of his chest. Here he was all sexy and I was just wearing an old t-shirt and some shorts.

Once inside he excused himself to go clean up and left me to explore the living room of his cabin. It was definitely a male domain; sparsely decorated with a huge entertainment center. The walls were pretty much bare except for a picture of what looked like Paul with his Mom and Dad.

"Jared just called and told me your brother imprinted on Abby." Paul stated as he walked into the room unfortunately dressed in a simple white t-shirt.

"Yeah…is he really mad?"

"Slightly pissed, but he'll get over it." Paul shrugged. "Matt will watch over her."

"Um…that's kind of why I'm here. I don't know you and since you imprinted on me I guess we should know each other right?" I chuckled a bit nervously.

Wow, had my brain lost functioning abilities or something? I sounded like an idiot; not a twenty one year old with a teaching certificate.

"You're not mad?"

"Why would I be?"

"You disappeared into your room the other night when we brought Matt back."

"I needed to be alone and think things over for a while. A lot has happened in a small amount of time. Paul, you have to understand that I didn't want to come back here at all and before this whole imprinting stuff happened I was planning on getting a job somewhere else and leaving. Now…that just seems wrong."

"I want to be whatever you want me to be, Natalie. I don't want to hold you back from anything."

"That's the thing; I want to be here now. I don't think I'm ready to be what Kim and Jared are, but I could use a friend."

He smiled brilliantly, "Whatever makes you happy makes me happy."

***

"Thanks for this Kim; he's been pouting all day."

Kim smiled as she handed me Abby's diaper bag. Jared, however, was clinging tight to his baby girl who was playing with the buttons on his shirt. I had convinced Kim to have a date night with Jared and promised her that I would babysit Abby, which meant that Matt would be around to get to know his little imprint.

Once I had the diaper bag I turned my attention to Jared, "It's okay, nothing will happen to her. And if I sense that he's getting all wolfy…I'll call Sam or Paul."

Jared kissed her forehead before he finally handed Abby to me. She immediately started to play with my hair and didn't pay any attention to the fact that her parents were leaving. No sooner had I shut the door then Matt was running down the stairs.

"Abby!"

She looked up, held out her arms to him, and giggled. I watched as Matt took her and carefully situated her on his hip. She stared up at him adoringly and I was glad that at least the feeling was mutual between the two of them.

"Oh, isn't she adorable!" Mom gushed as she walked into the living room. "I still can't believe it; both of my babies imprinted."

"Maybe even one of them will be married soon." Dad winked.

"Um…no." I quickly interjected.

"Just a matter of time, Nats." He stated. "Sure you're going to be 'friends' now, but we all know that's not how imprinting works."

"Think what you want, I'll prove you wrong."

"Nice going, Jim. Now she's going to do her best to keep everything strictly platonic." Mom rolled her eyes.

"We'll see." Dad smirked.

He could really be a douche sometimes. I ignored him after that last remark and went to help Matt and Abby build a giant lego town. Mom had found our old giant legos in the basement somewhere and even though I was twenty one I had been dying for an excuse to build something with them, and now I had it.

Of course Abby wouldn't let me just build in peace; she had to knock them down with a giggle every time I got close to finishing. And since Matt saw that that made her happy, he started doing it too. Finally, after five failed Eiffel towers I left the two of them and headed into the kitchen for some ice cream.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Blink-182**

**I am so happy with the ten reviews I got already after only two chapters. I'd like to see it doubled, but I'm not being pushy. Keep them coming, because they really do help motivate me.**

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"_I took her out it was a Friday night,_

_I wore cologne to get the feeling right"_

**What's My Age Again?**

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Third week back in La Push:

Monday: Go and meet Emily

Tuesday: Job interview at La Push elementary; grocery store afterward for Mom

Wednesday: Paul wants to hang out

Thursday: Free

Friday: Vegetate

I needed a routine and fast because lists just weren't going to quite cut it anymore. I thrived on routine; wake up every morning the same time, take a shower, eat breakfast, go about my day, and repeat. I knew that the best way for me to achieve a routine would be to get the job and that's what I was bound and determine to do. On Tuesday.

Today was Monday though and according to the list, it was time for me to become acquainted with Emily, the pack Mother as she was called. From Kim I had learned that Emily and Sam had one son about Abby's age and that Kim was pretty sure Emily was pregnant again.

I also had been warned about Emily's scars so I wasn't surprised when she opened the door and smiled up at me brilliantly. I only noticed them for a second before my gaze was riveted on her brilliant smile. No wonder the whole pack loved her; it was kind of hard not to. The scars may have marred her outer beauty, but nothing could damage her inner beauty.

"Natalie! It's wonderful to finally meet you! Come inside I just pulled some cookies out of the oven."

Holy hell, the smell that greeted my nose was delectable. Better than anything I had ever smelled in my Mom's kitchen and my Mom was a pretty hard core baker. So of course I happily followed her into the kitchen where Sam sat at the kitchen table feeding pieces of one of the cookies to their son.

"Natalie, you've met Sam before, but this is Joel."

"He's adorable." I gushed and it was no lie.

These people sure knew how to have beautiful babies. He looked like a mini Sam, and that wasn't a bad thing. I was sure that when he was older he would be the local heart throb; with Sam's high cheekbones and smile combined with Emily's beautiful chocolate eyes it was hard to imagine that he wouldn't be.

"Hello, Natalie." Sam smiled.

"Hey Sam." I replied as Emily handed me a couple of the chocolate chip cookies.

"So what brings you here?" Emily asked kindly.

"Well I wanted to get to know you." I replied honestly.

She smiled, "Great! You know Kim and I were planning on going into Port Angeles on Thursday. Would you like to come?"

I quickly went over my list for the week in my head and realized that Thursday I had absolutely nothing to do. What better than to form some friendships with some other imprints?

"I'd love to."

***

I hoped I looked like teacher material. It had only taken a half hour, five outfits, and a battle with the curling iron to achieve what I hoped to be a convincing look for myself. A nice black skirt, purple blouse, and my hair in gentle curls around my face. Not to mention the sensible pumps on my feet that were ideal for chasing around little kids.

"Do I look like I could be an elementary school teacher?" I asked Paul as I climbed into his truck.

He had insisted on taking me to my interview for moral support. I had at first thought about declining, but then remembered my resolution for the two of us to become friends. Friends drove each other places.

Of course a friend probably wouldn't practically eye rape me.

"I don't know about other elementary teachers, but you definitely look beautiful." He finally replied.

"Well I don't want to look sexy when I'm teaching a room full of seven and eight year olds." I explained.

"That'll be hard to do." He muttered. "You're sexy all the time."

Shivers raced down my spine. Hell, he had a husky voice and paired with that particular phrase I was glad that I was sitting down because otherwise I'm sure my knees would have weakened.

"You're going to get the job, Natalie." Paul assured me as he parked alongside the school. "My Mom is on the school board and well…she loves her son."

I rolled my eyes; like I wanted to get the job based on the fact that I was Paul's imprint. I wanted the job because I deserved the job and was the most qualified.

"I don't want it if that's how I have to get it."

"I was kidding."

"Thanks for the ride, I'll see you later." I stated before I hopped out of the car.

***

Paul was waiting for me when I walked out of the school, my head held high. The interview had gone better than I had even imagined. I was confident, intelligent, and as one of the board members had mentioned: 'not unpleasing to the eye'. Of course that particular member had been an old man.

"How'd it go?"

"Good, but I won't know for sure until Friday."

"Anywhere else, Natalie?"

"Um…the grocery store for my Mom."

I still wasn't too comfortable around him, but I was getting better. For one thing; I didn't lose complete brain function when we were around each other. Sure I had my lapses, but for the most part I was able to sound intelligent. I wanted to prove my Dad wrong as well as all the others that looked at me with knowing looks. Looks that said 'it's only a matter of time until she's like Kim or Emily'. No, that's not how it was going to work. Paul and I were going to be friends.

***

"Hanging out with him all day huh?" Dad smirked with an eyebrow skeptically arched.

I calmly sat down my glass of orange juice and met his gaze across the table. Matt was to my right shoveling pancakes into his mouth like they were going out of style and Mom was just watching between Dad and I…clearly amused.

"That's because we're going to be friends."

"Mmmhmm."

"Yes, mmhmm." I countered. "Jeez, what kind of Dad are you? Normally Father's are supposed to freak out when their daughter's are hanging around sexy men."

"Oh so you admit he's sexy?" Dad laughed.

Hell.

"Jim." Mom warned.

About damn time, lady. Seriously she needed to rein in her husband. What Father in his right mind would condone his daughter gallivanting around with a very sexy and obviously very virile male? Obviously he was not in his right mind.

Dad laughed, "Relax; Nat, I did _not_ like it that he imprinted on you, but I can't change it. So I just need to accept it because it is kind of an honor. My grandchildren will carry more of the wolf gene than either you or your brother does."

"Whoa! Grandchildren!?" I shouted.

"Nice going, James." Mom scoffed. "Honey, calm down and go enjoy your day with Paul; I think I heard him pull in."

Hopefully he hadn't heard Dad's last statement with that super wolf hearing of his. I sent my Dad one more look and happily strode out of the house and to Paul's truck. Once I was inside a quick assessment of his face told me that he had not heard what had just went down in the house, thank God.

"So what are we doing today?" I asked.

"You seem agitated."

"Thanks to my Dad, yes I am." I replied shortly. "So what are we doing?"

He grinned; a grin that I wasn't quite sure if I liked or not. Not that it wasn't a good look for him, but it was entirely too mischievous.

"Do you have your swimming suit?"

"I suppose that means you want me to go get it?"

A few minutes later I was back in the truck, slightly out of breath, with my beach bag in hand. Not that it was much of a beach bag considering I had lived in rainy Washington my entire life. There was a small bottle of sunscreen, just for those few surprise days, my swimming suit, and an extra fluffy towel.

I wasn't really looking forward to whatever he had planned because even though it was summer it was a whopping sixty eight degrees without a trace of blue in the sky. Not exactly the best swimming weather. Hell, I was wearing pants!

"Please tell me we're going somewhere with a heated pool."

He chuckled, "Nope. We're here."

By here he meant the cliffs, which meant that we would be swimming in the ocean. Which also meant that I would be freezing my ass off.

"Get changed."

"Where?!"

"In here."

"I don't think so, mister. Anyone could see! You could see!"

"I promise I won't look, and no one else is around."

I needed to be in the Guinness Book of World records for fastest speed getting into a swim suit because I was in that baby in less than two minutes. Paul laughed at me when I walked up next to his side, before he threw off his shirt. Yet again I had to take a moment to regain my senses before I followed him to the edge of the cliff.

"Shouldn't we be climbing down to the beach?"

Paul grinned, "We're gonna jump."

"Hell no! Are you crazy?"

"Some people say I am."

"Forget it."

I started to back away, but he was having none of that. He started to stalk after me and just as I was about to turn and run back to his truck, he grabbed me around the waist and lifted me so I had no choice but to wrap my legs around his waist if I didn't want to fall.

"I'm gonna-!"

And then we were falling…towards the ocean. If it was possible I clung even tighter to the bastard and took a deep breath just as we plunged into the icy water of the ocean.

***

After my trauma of the previous day I slept until almost eleven in the morning which was really abnormal for me. I was by no means a morning person, but my body had gotten into the habit of waking me around eight. So, considering all that had happened with Paul yesterday…I needed it.

Once he had pulled my sputtering body from the icy depths of the ocean he had warmed me up (which I'm sure he enjoyed a little bit too much) and then took me to get some lunch at a little café. It didn't end there though; he then took me to a bowling alley where I immensely enjoyed whipping his wolfy ass.

"Are you going to get ready so Kim and Emily can come and I can see Abby?" Matt asked as he barged into my room.

"Oh hell!" I yelled once I realized that the two of them plus their offspring would be here in a half hour for our trip into Port Angeles. I was excited, but not as much as Matt was since he would be babysitting Abby and Joel. I could only hope that he paid Joel an equal amount of attention.

Yet again I was sure I broke some record for fastest shower and then on top of that getting dressed. I even had time to spare after all my makeup was done! Of course it was only one minute, but it was still spare time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Relient K**

**You guys almost doubled the reviews, which makes me happy. Sorry this update was a little slower than I wanted, but some stuff came up that put me in a non writing mood. Keep the reviews coming!**

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"_We should get jerseys 'cause we make a good team,_

_but yours would look better than mine 'cause you're out of my league."_

**Must Have Done Something Right**

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Third week back in La Push:

Monday: Go and meet Emily **CHECK**

Tuesday: Job interview at La Push elementary; grocery store afterward for Mom **CHECK**

Wednesday: Paul wants to hang out **more like Paul wants to drown me, but CHECK**

Thursday: Bonding time with Kim and Emily

Friday: Vegetate and find out about job

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"So tell us honestly how you feel about all that has happened." Emily stated as we sat in one of the back booths in Dub's Pub in Port Angeles. It was pretty quiet in the Pub considering it was lunch time and since we were secluded we didn't have to worry about people over hearing.

"Well you know how Matt had to stay secluded for pretty much a week?" They nodded and I continued, "I pretty much stayed in my room that whole week. I never in a million years thought that the legends were true, and I certainly never thought that was why we were moving back!"

"What about imprinting?"

"I don't care what you guys say; Paul and I can just be friends."

"Natalie-" Kim sighed.

"No, listen; I'm not going to 'be' slash 'marry' slash 'whatever' with someone just because some weird wolfy thing makes it so." I stated and then with a shrug added: "You guys wanted honesty."

Kim and Emily exchanged glances before they turned back to me as a united front. Oh hell, couldn't we just enjoy a nice little outing together without wolf stuff getting in the way?

"We're just going to leave you with this one thought, Natalie." Emily smiled. "You can't fight the imprint; you can try, but you just can't."

"Now let's enjoy the rest of our day!" Kim said cheerily.

After that slightly uncomfortable conversation, we headed over to a little kid's clothing store that made me feel kind of left out. Emily and Kim dove right in, which didn't surprise me at all since they both had children to shop for.

"Guys, I have an announcement. I'm sure Sam is going to tell the guys on patrol tonight, but I'm pregnant." Emily gushed.

"Emily that's great!" Kim cried and threw her arms around Emily's neck.

I waited until Kim had released her before I pulled Emily into a hug of my own.

"So is Sam going to stop phasing to grow old with you?" Kim asked casually, like what we were talking about was an everyday topic; which it most certainly was not.

"He is; he called a pack meeting tonight and he's going to pass the alpha position to someone." Emily replied. "He won't tell me who though."

"What will he do now?" I asked curiously.

I couldn't help but wonder just how the guys could afford their lifestyles. Not that their lifestyles were exuberant, but they certainly did pack away a lot of food.

"He's going to start a construction company that he can run full time and the guys can work through the day no problem."

I finally noticed that Kim looked withdrawn. Her smile had faded from her face and she was just staring down at the little floral dress she held in her hands for Abby.

"Are you alright?" I asked her.

"You don't think he'll name Jared alpha do you?" She asked quietly. "I was hoping he'd give it up soon; for me and Abby…and well I think I might be pregnant too, but I'm not sure."

"Really?! We always end up having babies together." Emily laughed. "As for alpha, I honestly don't know; with the packs back together again my guess is that it'll be Jacob."

***

I still slept with a night light. Yeah, I know; I'm twenty one and I have a night light on when I sleep. So what? It's not like I'm afraid of the dark, I just like being able to see when I wake up in the middle of the night so I don't get disoriented. Most people didn't understand this logic though; especially Matt.

So when I woke up to a chuckle and my eyes snapped open I was thankful that I did have the night light otherwise I wouldn't have been able to see Paul coming in my window as if he owned the place.

"What are you doing?!" I hissed.

"You sleep with a night light on?"

"Not the point."

Once he had himself all the way into my room he walked over to my bed and sat down on the edge of it. Good thing I didn't sleep in the nude or anything.

"I repeat: what are you doing?"

"I need to talk to you."

"About?"

"Sam stepped down as our alpha."

"I know; Emily told us today. But who's the new alpha?" I asked as I sat up, careful to keep the covers from slipping below my waist where nothing but a very short pair of shorts covered my ass.

"Jake and since Jared announced that he would be giving up phasing soon, Jake decided I should be his alpha since I'll be the oldest wolf with them gone." He explained with a note of anxiety in his voice.

He definitely didn't sound like his normal cocky self. Something was off.

"You don't sound thrilled, what's wrong?"

"I just…well…I don't want to take it if I'm going to be giving phasing up soon."

"As in…us being 'together.'" I sighed. "Listen, we are friends. Go ahead and be beta okay? Cause even if something does happen in the future, it won't be for a while."

He looked…hurt?

"Does that make you happy?" He asked hesitantly.

"Yeah," I breathed, "it does."

***

Today was the day; the day I would find out if I got the job at La Push elementary. I really wanted it; to the point that I was already planning out how I would decorate it for the kid's when they got back after summer vacation ended. I already had a nifty banner that read: 'Ms. Hanner' that I had gotten as a graduation present from my parents.

When I got downstairs the house was deserted. I knew Dad was at work, and I assumed Matt was over at Kim and Jared's so that just left Mom MIA. How often did that happen though? Not nearly enough. With a big smile on my face I grabbed my iPod, an apron and started pulling out ingredients for my famous white chocolate chip cookies.

Even though my Mom usually ruled the kitchen with her baking, I occasionally took over. I even had a special baking playlist on my faithful red iPod, Old Red. The first song to come on as I started dropping stuff into the mixing bowl was Fall Out Boy's version of 'Beat It', which I preferred to Michael Jackson's any day.

The song was still going as I actually started to beat the mixture and I found myself singing out loud and shaking my hips as the ingredients stirred round and round in the mixing bowl. I was attempting to hit the high note when a pair of hands settled on my hips, causing me to jump, shriek and drop the mixer on the counter.

I turned off the mixer before I turned to my attacker, only to see Paul grinning down at me.

"Great performance." He smirked.

"Never, ever do that again. Hell, you almost got this mixer in your eyes!"

"What are you making? It looks good."

"Cookies; now if you'll excuse me I need to get back to it."

I guess I had thought that he would go sit in the living room or something, but instead he leaned back against the counter, out of my way and watched me work. To say it was disconcerting was an understatement; I was lucky I didn't I didn't spray dough everywhere.

"Okay, if you're just gonna stand there than you can help me." I finally said as I went to the drawer and pulled out another apron. "Put this on and start scooping dough onto the cookie sheet."

I watched in amusement as he tied my Mom's floral apron around his waist the best he could before he picked up a spoon and started to do as I asked him.

"Not that big! We'll hardly get any that way." I gently scolded as I fixed his massive dough ball into just the right size.

With Paul around to help I ended up making another entire batch, after he insisted that I needed to do so. He then proceeded to eat three cookies right out of the oven. With him and Matt around these cookies would never live to see tomorrow.

"Give me one before you eat them all." I smiled as he used the spatula to slide them off the baking sheet.

"What's the magic word?"

"Please?"

"Nope." He grinned and moved my cookie closer to his mouth.

"Paul is awesome?"

"Uh…no." The cookie was almost there.

"Paul is sexy?"

"That works! Here's your reward."

I scowled up at him, but took my cookie without protest. The first bite was like an orgasm in my mouth and I was sure the second would only be better, but the ringing phone stopped me.

"Hello?"

"Is this Natalie Hanner?" The male voice on the other end asked.

"Yes, it is."

"Well Ms. Hanner, I just wanted to inform you that you got the job. You need to report to the school this Monday for meetings and the rest of the week you can set up your room and make your lesson plans."

I knew I had an idiotic grin on my face at this point, but I didn't care. "Okay, great. Thanks so much."

"Not a problem, have a nice day."

"You too."

I hung up the phone and took another bite of cookie before I finally turned back around towards Paul with an idiotic grin on my face. His grin grew to match mine and before I could say 'Holy hell' he had me in his arms and was swinging me around and around while our cookies continued to bake in the oven.

"What grade are you teaching Ms. Hanner?" He asked as he sat me down.

"Third, Mr. Mire." I replied with a smile and another bite of my cookie.

"So that means you'll be staying in La Push for a while, right?"

"It looks that way."

It was a semi serious moment which was effectively ruined by the flash of a camera, held by none other than Matt. Both Paul and I stood there a moment before we both reacted. I started laughing hysterically; Paul had just been caught in Mom's girly apron. However, Paul did not find the humor in the situation.

"Give that here you little bastard!" He roared as Matt ran from the kitchen.

I watched as Paul threw off the apron and chased after him, a determined yet angry look on his face. I understood his anger; the guys would never let him live that one down any time soon. Oh well, his problem not mine. For right now I had all the cookies to myself and that was just the way I liked it.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to The Maine. ****Special thanks to alley leigh for always giving me a helpful and positive review. I'm not excluding the rest of you either! Keep it up, they really do help me out.**

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"_The looks you give are so contagious,_

_The way we move is so outrageous."_

**Count 'em One, Two, Three**

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I was ready…ready to shape little minds. At first my body had protested when I woke at five thirty, but after a nice hot shower and a nutritious breakfast, complete with a brownie Paul had helped me make, I was ready.

Dressed in a nice pair of black pants and a turquoise blouse I was ready to face the day full of eager minds. Well, hopefully they would be eager.

Decorating my classroom had been the best part about the gig so far. Paul had insisted on coming in to help me and ended up hanging up a solar system he bought me as a congratulations gift. On top of that I had acquired one of those giant crayons I always liked, some nifty posters, and borders for those display boards. Plus, I had a variety of different colored chalk.

Paul had also helped me make personalized desk name tags for the kids. They weren't anything too special; just their name surrounded by blank space so they could fill it in to fit their own personalities.

"You ready for today?" Mrs. Call, also known as Embry's Mom, asked from the doorway.

She taught fourth grade next door and had been one of the people to give me some of the cool stuff I decorated the room with. She had also been a great place for advice on certain situations.

"I have a good feeling about today, Sandy." I replied with a smile.

"Good; I remember my first day all too clearly. I threw up; of course then I didn't know that I was pregnant with Embry."

"Yeah I don't think I have to worry about that." I chuckled.

"Well good luck, Natalie."

Before I knew it thirty little faces were staring up at me expectantly. At first I was a little overwhelmed, but then I remembered the pep talk I had had with myself in the shower and took a deep breath. I was fine after that.

The first day was pretty carefree; some games to help me remember their names, and a way to get others out of their comfort zones. I had hated those games when I was a kid, but as I got older I realized that they actually did some good.

Everything went as planned, until Paul appeared in the doorway with two containers in his hands. The class was in a circle on the floor playing one of my ice breaker games, and I quickly excused myself to have a little chat with him.

"What are you doing here?" I whispered.

"I made cupcakes." He replied with a smile.

"With who?"

"Your Mom helped me."

Paul was going domestic. Not good. Not that I didn't appreciate the cupcakes of course.

"Class, my friend Mr. Mire brought us cupcakes!"

"Yay!" Seemed to be the general reply, followed by a few: "Is he your boyfriend?"

"He's my boy that is a friend who brought us cupcakes. So let's make a line and make sure to say thank you to Mr. Mire."

Once they all had a chocolate cupcake, silence descended around the room, leaving Paul and I standing there watching as they ate their sweets.

"Thanks." I smiled.

"I figured I'd easily make you their favorite teacher." Paul smirked.

I stuck my tongue out at him, "They liked me before you brought your bribery cupcakes in here!"

"Ms. Hanner?"

The two of us looked down at the little girl who had dropped a bit of frosting on her pink shirt. I immediately knelt down so I was in front of her and looked into her sad eyes. Oh no, this was probably her favorite shirt or something. I remembered that I always used to wear my favorite shirt on the first day of school and she was probably the same way.

"We'll clean it off the best we can for now okay Hannah? And then when you get home your Mom can make it completely better."

"You're a natural." Paul whispered with a smile before I guided Hannah over to the sink.

***

Mom and Dad were both grinning like idiots at the dinner table. That was never a good thing. The first time I had realized that I had been four years old and they'd just told me I had a new brother. Over the years it had been clear that those faces did not correspond with something I would like that much.

"What are you guys grinning about?" I finally asked.

"How was your first day?" Mom asked casually.

"Fine…"

"I hear a special someone brought cupcakes into your class." Dad said as he wiggled his eyebrows. What the hell?

"Cupcakes that Mom helped him make."

"He came to me, Nat." Her grin turned into a full out smile then.

Matt finally came up from his pork chops for air then and added, "Yeah, you should hear his thoughts, Nat."

"Excuse me what?"

"When we're in wolf form we can hear each other's thoughts." He explained casually.

Oh hell; I did not like the sound of that. Not just because Paul was probably having some less than friendly thoughts about me like Matt's grin implied, but because Matt had some memories of me stored up there in that small brain of his that I'm sure had escaped.

"I'm not hungry anymore; if you'll excuse me I need to go work on my lesson plan."

It was a lie, but they didn't need to know that.

***

The first thing I noticed when I stepped into the house was that it smelled like farts and…Doritos? Mom's car was not in the driveway and I knew for sure that Dad was at work. So that just left Matt. I was about to head up the stairs to my room, but then I heard a different laughs from the living room followed by my brother's familiar one.

"What's going on here?" I asked casually as I walked into the living room to see my brother and two other kids that were obviously part of the pack; if their size was any indication. Of course there was also the fact that the Doritos were disappearing at an alarming rate.

"Hey Nat!" Matt greeted before he shoved more Doritos in his mouth.

"This is _the_ Natalie?" One of the other kids asked as his gaze roamed over my body a bit frankly.

"Um yeah." Matt rolled his eyes.

"Paul's mind doesn't do her justice."

"Excuse me, just who are you?" I asked defensively as I placed my hands on my hips.

Finally the other kid spoke up, "That's Collin and I'm Brady. Excuse his behavior, he's an idiot."

"She's hot though." Collin whispered, but not quietly enough for me not to hear.

"Don't let Paul hear you say or think that." Matt laughed darkly. "In fact it's bad enough that Paul fantasizes about her, I don't need you to do it too!"

"This would be my exit cue." I declared before I practically ran up the stairs and into my room before I had to hear more about fantasies that involved me. Hell, I was probably going to be the star of Collin's wet dream tonight.

What really disturbed me…well maybe not disturbed, but got to me was the fact that Paul was fantasizing about me. I wasn't upset about it necessarily because I knew that he probably wasn't trying to broadcast those thoughts as far as he could help it. I knew he respected me, but then there was a part of me that kind of liked that he was fantasizing about me.

"Natalie! Paul is here!" Matt called up the stairs a few minutes later after I had changed out of my work clothes.

Of course when I got downstairs I was not expecting to see Paul with Collin in a headlock as Matt and Brady looked on, laughing.

"What's going on here?" I asked casually.

"Brady told Paul that Collin was objectifying you." Matt replied nonchalantly.

"Let him go Paul."

I could tell that he didn't really want to, but my wish was his command as he let go of Collin and sent him a warning look before he turned to face me. His eyes took in my appearance; probably trying to judge if my outfit was too revealing for Collin to see.

"Want to go with me to pick Abby?" I asked him. "We're watching her tonight while Kim and Jared go out to celebrate the new pregnancy."

"Why can't I go?" Matt whined.

"You're going to see her all night, so stay here and clean up before Mom gets back."

"That means you two should go home." Paul inserted. "I think Jacob mentioned something about a double shift for you tonight Collin, so Matt can spend time with his imprint."

I had to hide my amusement because I knew that the only one who was supposed to be pulling a double tonight had been Paul himself, but since he was pissed at Collin that duty got passed down to him. Poor kid.

"You're horrible." I chuckled as the two of us got into my car.

"He deserves it." He replied moodily.

"He's just a teenage boy, although I have to admit I didn't like thinking of myself being the star of his wet dreams."

"What?!"

"Relax, that's something my own mind conjured up. Anyway, I hear you have fantasies about me so give the kid a break."

Paul huffed, "You're my imprint; I'm allowed to."

"Really?" I arched a brow.

"Well…I have more of a right to then he does anyway."

"Mmhmm."

***

That night I had my own fantasy. After a long night of supervising Matt with Abby I was tired and crawled right into bed once Kim and Jared had picked her up. My dream started out normal enough, or as normal as my dreams ever got, but then it changed drastically.

The strange campground made out of candy disappeared and in its place was a room with a giant bed in the middle. The bed was huge as was the room and even the window. Something pulled me towards the giant portal and then I was staring outside at Paul chopping wood completely naked, yes not shirtless, but naked. Of course since I was a virgin and had never actually seen a penis besides what they showed in text books… that part of his body seemed to be covered in a haze.

He looked up as I stared out at him and then before I knew it I felt hands on my suddenly bare hips and hot breath on the side of my neck. A quick glance told me I was just as naked as he was, but dream me seemed to be absolutely fine with it.

Then he was guiding me; guiding me back towards the bed as his hands skimmed over my naked flesh. Just as he was about to settle his body on top of mine I jerked awake and opened my eyes to see Paul climbing through my window.

"What are you doing?" I hissed as I tried to shake aside the images that kept playing over and over in my head. It didn't work too well.

"I just got off patrol and I needed to see you." Paul answered. "I was stuck with Collin and I almost killed that little bastard."

"Um…yeah that's good."

"What's wrong with you?" He asked casually as he sat down on the edge of my bed.

"Nothing."

"You sure about that?"

"I had just had a disturbing dream is all."

"About?"

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"You sure?"

Oh hell yes I'm sure that I don't want to tell you about how I fantasized about you and me together naked is what I wanted to say, but instead I stuck with: "Yes, I'm sure."

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	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to We the Kings.**

**The last chapter upload was kind of a fail; sorry about that. So if you haven't read it yet and are already getting this sorry. Anyway I just saw the new trailer for New Moon and…I'm sorry but Robert Pattinson's chest looks creepy, thankfully we have the wolves to make up for that eye sore.**

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"_I couldn't sleep last night,_

_I walked alone on the beach…"_

**All Again For You**

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"You look tired." Mom stated as she handed me a muffin still warm from the oven. Obviously she had been up at five thirty this morning baking as she usually did when she was going through one of her menopausal mood swings.

"Yup." I replied simply.

I wasn't about to tell her why I was so tired. Last night had been the fifth… yes fifth, time I had had an almost sex dream staring yours truly and Paul Mire. I was pretty sure that the only reason the dreams weren't complete sex dreams was the fact that I had never actually had sex, therefore my mind couldn't do the necessary conjuring. Yeah I knew the mechanics of sex, but experience was always more valuable.

"Well you better drink some coffee or something because isn't this field trip day?"

"Oh hell." I whined.

Today my class was going on a field trip into the woods as an assignment for the science part of our class. Their assignment was a scavenger hunt; they were looking for leaves, bugs, and certain plants.

Thirty kids in the woods with dirt, shovels, and typical kid behavior? Today was not going to be a great day for me, even with Paul and Hannah's Mom to help us. It also didn't help that my class was convinced that Paul was my boyfriend. After he had brought a giant candy bowl the other day they were all positive that we were dating.

So it was with a deep breath that I stepped off the small La Push elementary bus and into the woods. The kids had already spread out with Paul and Mrs. Daniels (Hannah's Mom) yelling after them to stay close so we could see them.

"Alright, I'm going to see what I can find of all this stuff so I can show the kids if they don't find it." I stated to my two helpers.

"I'll come with you." Paul stated.

I looked at Mrs. Daniels and she just sent me a knowing smile and shooed us away with her hands. What was it with people? Even those who didn't know about imprinting seemed to think that Paul and I belonged together. Hell, even seven and eight year olds knew it.

"You do realize that you are the favorite teacher of La Push elementary?" Paul grinned as I stood up from gathering some Pill bugs or as the kid's called them: rollie pollies.

"I do." I smiled as I heard the laughter of children and a few outraged screeches from the girls in particular.

"No throwing dirt!" Mrs. Daniels reprimanded.

"I love teaching." I sighed happily. "Even if it means being exhausted on a day like today."

"Why are you tired?"

"I've been having some…dreams."

"About what?"

"I'm not going to tell you."

"Because they involve me."

Holy hell! He knew! I could tell he knew! It wasn't just the way he had said it, but the look he gave me. It wasn't a smile, smirk, or grin, but it was almost a hungry look. Almost as if he wanted to perform the same things on me as he did in the dream only here and now.

Without realizing it I moved closer to him, only noticing how close we were when the heat from his body started to radiate into me. My head was craned as I looked up into his dark brown eyes and he stared down into mine. My breath deserted me and then his mouth was coming closer to mine.

"Ms. Hanner and Mr. Mire sitting in a tree K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love then comes marriage then comes a baby in a baby carriage!"

We jerked apart as if lightning had struck the ground a few feet away from us and turned to see the intruder. It was the loud one from my class, Henry, and that meant that within the next five minutes he would make sure everyone around knew about what he had just witnessed. We hadn't technically kissed, but even an eight year old could tell we were about to.

"Henry," I cleared my throat, "have you finished your assignment?"

"Yup." He replied smugly. "I can help you with yours now."

I agreed without hesitation; if he was here I wouldn't be tempted to attach my lips to Paul's.

***

After the incident in the woods I decided it was probably best if I didn't see Paul for a little while. I knew that as his imprint he couldn't stand to be away from me for long periods of time so I arranged for a girl's weekend with Emily and Kim. They deserved a weekend without their husbands and children before they became too pregnant to enjoy anything.

So I made reservations at a hotel in Seattle and on Friday picked up the two ladies and headed into Seattle. I knew that they knew I was running away on purpose; probably all of La Push knew what had happened in the woods thanks to big mouth Henry. Of course I couldn't put all the blame on his shoulders; he probably told his mother and she was notorious for spreading gossip around the rez.

"Is that a Jacuzzi in there?" Kim gasped.

"Sure is."

"I love you right now, Nat, you don't even know." She gushed before she ran to her suitcase and pulled out a swimming suit. "You guys gonna join me?"

"Yeah, three women in a tub isn't weird at all." I replied with a smile as I pulled out my own swimming suit.

Ten minutes later the three of us were situated in the delightful waters of the Jacuzzi sipping on sparkling grape juice. I had wanted to pull out some of the real stuff for myself, but had resisted. They didn't need to see or hear the things that happened when I drank alcohol, even small amounts.

"We heard about the woods, Natalie." Emily stated bluntly.

"Dammit Henry!"

"Thank his mother." Kim rolled her eyes. "That woman needs to get a life. She was the first to point out that Abby arrived seven months after the wedding. The fact that she was actually premature didn't mean a thing to her."

"No one likes her, but that's not why I brought it up. So tell us what happened."

"We almost kissed. End of story… period."

"And that's why you arranged this weekend to get away from him for a while because you know that inside you're giving into the imprint." Emily smirked.

"Psssh." I rolled my eyes, hoping I looked casual. "I just needed to get away in general."

"Yeah, and my husband loves the smell of vampires." Kim chuckled.

I sighed, "I've been having almost sex dreams about him okay guys? Jeez, drill me why don't ya?!"

"What kind of sex dreams are we talking?" Kim questioned as she straightened up.

"We don't actually have sex because my mind can't fill in that blank, but we're both naked and kissing and moaning and-"

"Got the picture thanks." Emily interrupted me with a disgusted look on her face.

"And then in the woods it's like he knew I was having those dreams and he looked like he wanted to pin me up against a tree and do something right there." I continued.

Both of them were quiet for a second as they digested that and then Kim spoke up: "Do you by any chance talk in your sleep?"

I shrugged, "I don't know."

"Maybe you've been moaning his name and he's heard it when he checks in on you."

"It's possible." I sighed. Those dreams did get pretty intense. Wait. Checks in on me? "He spies on me while I'm sleeping?"

Emily rolled her eyes, "He's just making sure you're safe. It's not like he's a peeping tom."

"That would be Collin." Kim added with a laugh.

"Shut up." I grumbled.

"Cheer up and have fun, Nat. We all knew this was going to happen eventually; Paul's a sexy guy it's only natural you moan his name in your sleep. Soon you'll probably be moaning it to him."

"Kim!"

"Too much?"

"Um yeah."

"You're right though." Emily high fived her.

A relaxing weekend my ass.

***

The weekend I had had in mind was not the weekend I got. After the first night, Emily and Kim spent the rest of the weekend sending innuendos my way and went as far as to drag me into a lingerie store and buy a matching bra and panty set. Pregnant ladies were scary.

So when I pulled into my driveway I wasn't exactly thrilled to see Matt out in the front yard with Collin and Brady. Each of them was stuffing down some of my mom's homemade chocolate chip cookies, but when they saw me pull in Collin immediately leaped to attention.

"Hey Natalie." He greeted.

"Hi Collin." I said shortly as I opened the door to grab my bag.

"Let me get that." He insisted.

He was already reaching his arm out when someone cleared their throat from behind us. We both knew who it was at the same moment, but our reactions were very different. Collin immediately ran back to his friends and the cookies and I turned towards Paul with a smile.

"Miss me?" I grinned.

"Do I have to answer that?" Paul grumbled as he lifted my bag from the back seat.

"Why are you so grumpy?"

"I didn't see you all weekend."

"Don't be a baby, I'm back now. Sam and Jared survived and they're in a relationship with their imprints." I pointed out and was glad that Emily and Kim weren't there to point out how easily Paul and I could be in a relationship.

"So what did you do this weekend without me?" I asked as he followed me into the house and up the stairs to my room.

"We landed a job building a house in Forks."

"That's great!" I exclaimed. "Is a new family moving to Forks or something?"

"Yeah, some newlyweds by the name of Granger." He shrugged.

I froze. Could he mean? No, he couldn't. Why would they move to Forks?

"Do you by any chance know their first names?" I asked casually.

"Tobin and Michelle…why?"

What the hell?! Why?! Why did they have to move that close to me? I thought I had left them behind after college graduation, but obviously they were hell bent on continuing to ruin my life; my happiness to be exact.

"Nat, what's going on?" Paul asked worriedly as I slowly sat down on my bed.

"Don't worry about it."

He guffawed, "That's a little hard, sweetheart."

"It's nothing."

Paul gave me a look that clearly stated he didn't believe any of the shit coming out of my mouth before he sat down next to me and wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

"Are you going to tell me or am I going to have to resort to other measures?" He whispered, his hot breath fanning over my ear and neck.

At any other time I was pretty sure I would've been turned on, but not right now. I couldn't be turned on while I was thinking of them.

"What are the other measures?" I asked quietly.

"I'll confront them of course."

"No!" I shrieked as I jumped up from the bed.

"Then tell me."

I sighed. I really didn't want to talk about it right now, but I had a feeling that as soon as Paul left for the night I would be dying to spill my guts so better sooner than later.

"Alright I'll tell you."


	7. Chapter 7

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Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Forever the Sickest Kids.

**This will probably be the last review before next week; I'm going home for my birthday so no internet and I won't be writing either. I'll be celebrating my 19****th****! Thanks for all the reviews despite the fact fanfiction was being stupid with uploads. Hopefully it'll work this time…**

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"_Hey Brittany, why are you messing with me?_

_Is your boy in your mind, is your boy in the car, _

_or are you alone?" _

**Hey Brittany **

* * *

I sat down on the bed next to Paul and turned to face him. This was going to be a long story so I tried to gather all of my errant thoughts and took a deep breath. He just watched me patiently and then reached out to grab one of my hands as I opened my mouth.

"When I first went away to college I met Tobin, we became fast friends. It was easy; we both loved the same things and the things we didn't share complemented each other so well. He hated writing, so I helped him with essays, I hated math so he helped me with my homework. Well, after the first year people began to assume we were a couple and when they heard that we weren't they convinced us that we should be. So we took the next step and became a couple.

"It was great for the whole of sophomore year; we were in love…it was working out. Then junior year rolled around and we met Michelle one day. Things went downhill from there. She was everything I wasn't; athletic, vocally talented, had a four point all her life, and it was easy to see that she had Tobin enthralled. But I stupidly thought our love and friendship was enough, but obviously it wasn't."

"What happened?" Paul asked gently as the familiar tears started to prick my eyes. I held them back though; I had promised myself I would shed no more tears for that asshole.

"At the tail end of junior year I went home for spring break, but Tobin had to stay at the University for his job. Little did I know that Michelle also had to stay there. When I got back it was to find the two of them kissing, laughing, and hanging all over each other on his couch. That was it; he didn't even officially break up with me. He just kind of looked at me and shrugged. That's not the worst part; by the start of senior year they were engaged! But what really gets me is that they had the nerve…the freaking nerve to send me a wedding invitation."

Paul didn't say anything, but he was starting to shake. From my experience with the wolves so far I knew that this was not a good sign. So I did what came natural to me and wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. He calmed immediately and pressed me even closer to his chest.

"He didn't deserve you ever, Nat." He whispered harshly.

"I know that now, but it still hurts." I sighed into his neck. "But please don't let this get in the way of your job."

"I want to tear his head off…or screw up his plumbing."

I laughed, "No, you guys need the money. If anything over charge him; Michelle is rich."

We were silent for a few minutes as we held each other. His warmth felt nice surrounding me, but my neck was starting to hurt, so I pulled away and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Is that why you insist on being friends and won't listen to what anyone tells you about imprinting?"

I kept my mouth shut; he could figure that one out on his own.

***

"What's all the excitement about?" I asked Sandy.

I had just gotten to school for the day and already it was mayhem and the kids weren't even here yet! Sandy looked up from her desk and to where I stood at her classroom door.

"They hired an art teacher finally and they're making sure the room has everything he needs." Sandy shrugged. "Waste of money if you ask me; the kids like my arts and craft lessons just fine."

I agreed; yeah it was nice that they would have a real art teacher, but I would miss the many art projects that lined the walls on a weekly basis. Then again just because they did have an art class didn't mean we still couldn't do fun projects.

"It'll be good for them." I finally decided. "Do you know who it is?"

"Beats me."

"Well, I better get some copies made before the kids get here." I sighed and headed back into my room to grab the original worksheet. Then I headed down to the office, my heels making a click clack noise on the tiled floor.

When I rounded the corner in the office to where the copier was, I discovered there was someone already at it. It was a man, a tall one at that, and he was not from the Rez; that was for sure. His skin was pale, not vampire pale, and he had sandy blonde hair. He was obviously the new art teacher.

"Damn, it's jammed." He sighed probably not realizing that I was right behind him waiting for my turn.

"Yeah it does that, let me see." I said and chuckled a little when he jumped a bit.

He stepped out of the way and I bent down to pull out one of the drawers. It only took me a minute to fix it and when I stood back up our eyes met. He had been about to say thank you, but it died on his lips.

"Natalie?"

Hell.

"Tobin?"

***

I honestly do not know how I made it through the day without screaming. So as soon as I got home I jumped out of my car and ran to the edge of the woods. Then I let out an ear piercing scream of frustration. Cliché? Yeah, but in that one second I felt a hell of a lot better.

"Natalie!" Paul yelled as he barreled out of my house and ran towards me. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

"I'm fine."

"Then why were you screaming?" He asked a bit angrily.

"I needed to let go of some frustration." I sighed. "Paul, he works there…he works there now."

It was at that moment that those blasted tears I had thought I was done with chose to resurface and spill over onto my cheeks. Paul's face immediately softened and he pulled me into his arms without a moment's hesitation. I melted into him and cried. Not one of my best moments, but dammit I think I was entitled.

Once the tears pretty much had stopped he pulled me back far enough and wiped the moisture from my cheeks with his thumbs.

"Now what's going on?"

"Tobin, the asshole I told you about, is our new art teacher and I ran into him today." I explained.

"What did he do?"

"I ran into him at the copier and we did one of those 'is that you?' things and then I made some excuse about needing to do something for Sandy and got the hell out of there. I don't want to talk about it anymore okay? I need to grade papers and I promised the kids cookies tomorrow."

Paul smiled understandingly, "Why don't you work at the kitchen table and I'll make the cookies?"

"More like you and my Mom will make the cookies." I chuckled. "You have to wear an apron though."

"Fine."

So ten minutes later I was grading math assignments and watching Paul in his floral apron pour flour into the bowl Mom was mixing in. I had to admit that he had become a baking pro after hanging around Mom and me for as long as he had. I was actually pretty confident that with a step by step recipe he would be able to make anything pretty much perfectly.

"So Halloween is coming up," Mom began, "do you have anything planned for your class?"

"That reminds me! We're going to have an awesome party. And I've been meaning to ask the both of you to help me out."

"Of course." Paul was quick to reply.

"Same here." Mom grinned.

"You guys have to wear costumes…"

"Still in." Mom smiled.

"Me too." Paul sighed.

"Great! Well, lots of the kids are going to bring in stuff. But I need us to make a bunch of Halloween themed cupcakes, and we need to think of games and get the stuff for that as well."

"Bobbing for apples?" Mom suggested.

"Good idea! Ooh, I got one! Wrap Paul up like a mummy!"

"We'll have to start a list." Mom said. "Do know what you're going to dress up as, Natalie?"

"I don't know yet, but I'll figure it out. I've got an idea for Paul though."

"What?" Paul questioned. "A werewolf?"

"Pssh, that's too easy. I was thinking a vampire." I grinned evilly.

"Hell no!"

***

Planning for the Halloween party took my mind off of the fact that not only did Tobin and Michelle live nearby, but also the fact that he worked in the same freaking building as I did. I did my best to avoid him and for the most part I had achieved, but I knew that nothing could last forever.

Normally I ate lunch in my classroom with Sandy, but today she had to make a run to the pharmacy on her lunch break. So that left me alone at my desk eating the sandwich I had made in the morning along with one of the muffins that Paul had helped my Mom make.

"Natalie, do you mind if I come in?"

I looked up to where Tobin stood in my doorway with a lunch bag in hand and an unsure smile on his face. I wanted to say 'hell no', but this was an elementary school and since we were technically colleagues I had to do the polite thing.

"Go ahead."

He chose to sit in the desk nearest to mine; it was an unoccupied desk so I didn't have to worry about him messing up one of my student's nametags with an errant pickle or a drip of mustard.

"So what brought you to La Push?" He asked.

I stared at him blankly. Seriously? "Um I was born here; I think I told you that once."

"You were?"

"Yeah, I'm Quileute. We moved back here in the summer."

He nodded, "You still live with your parents?"

"Yeah, I do. But I plan on moving out soon." I said defensively. "What brings you to La Push?"

"Forks technically." He corrected me and at that moment I wanted to sock him in the face. "Michelle wanted a tame life."

Now I wanted to not only sock him in the face but deal him a kick to the groin area as well.

"That's nice." I lied and took a bite of my sandwich so I wouldn't slip and say what I was really thinking.

"So I heard you were having the best Halloween party in the school."

"Well every class has one; my class just automatically assumes ours will be the best."

"Need any help?"

"No my Mom and my friend are helping me." I said quickly because there was no way in hell that I was going to give him the idea that we were fine and dandy. Oh I would be civil to him, like right now, but I wasn't about to go out of my way for the jack ass.

He cleared his throat, "So what's with all the wolf fascination around here?"

I wanted to roll my eyes, but I refrained, "They're part of our tribal lessons so of course we tend to respect wolves." Obviously he had never listened to me when we were 'friends'.

"Hey Nat, I brought you some-"

Both Tobin and I looked up as Paul entered carrying what looked like some of my Mom's homemade caramel corn. That stuff was delicious and normally I would have practically jumped him to get that stuff, instead I sat back and watched what was going to happen.

"Hey Paul." I greeted with a smile. "This is Tobin, Tobin this is my friend Paul."

I saw Paul tense and sent him a warning look. He took a second and then he approached my desk. After he placed the container full of caramel corn on my desk he turned to Tobin.

"Hey, you're one of the guys working on our house!" Tobin stated.

"Yeah, I'm Paul Mire." Paul replied as he held out his hand.

Tobin grasped it with his and I watched as Paul shook his hand firmly. Yes firmly; firm enough that I saw Tobin cringe a little. What a baby; with his little artists hands.

"Well I better get back to work." Paul said, but it was obvious he did not want to leave and I didn't really want him to either.

"I've got to go make copies, I'll walk you out." I lied.

Tobin took that as his cue to leave, gathering up the rest of his lunch and walking out the door with a 'nice to meet you'.

"I wanted to punch him in the face." Paul stated once he was gone.

"And I wanted to kick him in the balls."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to All Time Low; check out the video for this song…it's great.**

**Thanks again for reviews! Sorry it took me so long, but I am tired from my birthday weekend.**

"_Oh, oh, oh, how was I supposed to know _

_that you were oh oh over me?_

_I think that I should go, go!_

_Something's telling me to leave but I won't,_

'_cause I'm damned if I do ya, damned if I don't."_

**Damned if I Do Ya, Damned if I Don't**

* * *

Today was the thirty-first of October or more commonly known as Halloween. As soon as I woke up I could smell the lingering aroma of the cupcakes we had baked last night as well as the caramel corn we had made for my class.

I was excited and not just because my upcoming party was the most bragged about in La Push elementary school history, but because I had a pretty awesome costume. Not everyone would get the humor behind it, but the ones that would were the ones who mattered. As for Paul's costume; that still remained a mystery to me. My Mom's was an easy answer: a witch, because that's what she was every year without fail.

"I know what you are Ms. Hanner!" Hannah giggled excitedly from behind me.

I turned around and looked down at the little puppy before me. Hannah looked absolutely adorable in her spotted puppy costume, complete with floppy ears and a little tail.

"What am I?" I asked her with a smile.

"Little Red Riding Hood!"

And wouldn't you know that just at that moment Paul walked in dressed as a dinosaur. One look at him and I started to laugh uncontrollably. It was by far the most adorable thing I had ever seen on a grown man. It was a full body costume complete with a long spiky tail and a goofy head that sat on top of his head so his face could peek out.

"It's a Paulosaurus!" I cried…literally; I had tears in my eyes from laughing at him. He was green with purple spots for goodness sakes!

Hannah turned and looked at him with an angry look on her face, "Mr. Mire, you were supposed to be the big bad wolf that gets Ms. Hanner."

His gaze met mine over Hannah's head and we shared smirks.

"You look like Barney." I laughed as Mom whipped out her camera like a pro. She should be good at it; both Matt and I had photo albums full of embarrassing pictures at home to prove it.

"Barney was purple with green spots." Paul stated very seriously. "Plus his tail was not spiky."

"You thought that one through."

"What about you?" He quirked a brow. "In a get up like that you're practically inviting the attention of the Big Bad Wolf."

"Yup." I grinned. "Not a purple spotted dinosaur."

With that I turned towards my class that overnight had transformed into skeletons, mummies, witches and Disney Princesses. It did not escape my notice that none of them were dressed as vampires. This made perfect sense because it was usually around this time that their parents re-told them the legends which automatically made vampires un-cool. Yet even though the kids loved wolves, none of them were dressed as such.

"You mean I don't have a big bad wolf?" I asked the class.

"We thought Mr. Mire would." Hannah pouted.

I smiled, "I think the dinosaur suits him today. It'll make mummifying him more exciting."

"Let's mummy him!" The little pirate, otherwise known as Jimmy, yelled.

There was no stopping them after that, especially when my Mom pulled out the toilet paper and handed me the camera. The next ten minutes were priceless. All thirty of my students wrapped his giant Paulosaurus body up in toilet paper, only leaving his eyes visible.

"Wait till the guys see this!" I laughed as I snapped pictures.

Paul just sighed as he tried to get the toilet paper off of himself. The little boogers had trapped his arms down by his side and had left him there to fend for himself as they went to make apple snacks with my Mom. I wanted to join them too, as the delicious aroma of caramel graced my nose, but I settled for sticking with Paul.

"You owe me for this you know." He grumbled as I started to unwrap him.

"No, I don't. You volunteered for this, Paul. You knew what you were getting into with a bunch of eight year olds."

"At least go with me tonight." He pleaded.

"Where are you going?"

"With Quil, Claire, and Claire's little friend trick or treating. Her friend is a little boy and he doesn't like Quil too much and since I lost a bet the other day I have to go with them."

"I'll go, but only for the sake of the children." I replied. "With you there that poor boy won't get any candy and we both know Quil will be too preoccupied with Claire to notice."

It wasn't until he was completely unwrapped that I thought of something, "Are you going in your costume?"

"Hell no!"

"Paul, the kids!"

He cleared his throat, "Sorry…no I'm not."

"Well I'm gonna stay dressed up." I pouted.

"Then I'll go as your big bad wolf." Paul grinned.

I just rolled my eyes and went to make myself a caramel apple along with my students.

***

They were so cute they had me longing for the days when my Mom dressed Matt and I up and took us all around the neighborhood for bags full of candy. The best year had been the year Matt was an elf and I had been an enchantress, complete with a cool sparkly robe.

Claire and her little friend, Peter, were not dressed up as an elf or an enchantress though. Little Claire was a lady bug and Peter was a ninja. I personally loved the ninja costume and was slightly disappointed that I hadn't thought of that for myself this year. Well, there was always next year.

We had been to dozens of places and the kids were loaded with candy, but Claire still wanted more and since Quil was powerless to refuse her we kept on going. Of course Claire wasn't walking like her little friend. He looked worn out; the poor little ninja.

"Paul," I whispered, "you should carry Peter. He looks like he's about to fall asleep standing up."

He just nodded and bent down to grab the little guy. Of course being the big oaf that Paul is, he didn't warn Peter so he let out a little shriek when Paul picked him up and settled him on his hip.

"Smooth move." I chuckled as I unwrapped a bite size Snickers for myself.

Peter didn't seem to care about how he got into his position; instead he snuggled into Paul and rested his head against his shoulder. It was most definitely an 'aww' moment that I whipped out my camera for. Yes, it was true; I was turning into my Mother.

"Alright, this is the last house Claire." Quil stated as we walked up to the small cottage on the outskirts of Forks.

It was kind of a sad looking place; more of an in between home than anything else really. I was sure if the kids had been more alert they would have been freaked out. It was dark, in the woods, and I could see at least three cobwebs in the corner of the porch.

"Trick or Treat." Claire and Peter sang half heartedly from their perches as the door swung open to reveal…Michelle.

Great, just freaking great. I could not escape them!

"Well aren't you two adorable!" She gushed. "I've got just enough candy left for the two of you! OH! Is that you Natalie?"

"Hi."

I watched as her gaze darted to Paul who happened to be standing pretty close to me and then to little Peter in his arms. I could tell what she was thinking; she probably figured that since Peter was tan like the both of us he was ours. Little did the idiot know that Peter was Hispanic and not Native American.

"Is this your little boy?" She asked with a smile.

"No." I replied curtly as she dropped candy into their bags.

"Oh."

It was probably one of the most awkward moments of my life, but once the kids got their candy I practically bolted away from that door. Paul was quick to follow me, Peter asleep now in his arms.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, that was just very awkward and I want to go home." I replied.

"Of course."

***

He insisted on following me upstairs to my room to make sure I really was alright and wasn't lying. Truth be told, I was fine, just a little annoyed. Annoyed that I was ever stupid enough to believe that Tobin was my best friend and annoyed that they had to invade my home.

"Maybe they'll move away soon." Paul stated once I was out of the bathroom in my comfortable pj's.

"They're having a house built; I doubt it." I replied with an eye roll. "I can adjust; but I don't have to like it."

He was perched on the edge of my bed and I joined him there, automatically sinking into his embrace without even realizing it. It felt so natural…just plain right. I knew that I was right; Paul and I could just be friends, but why settle for that when we could successfully have so much more?

"How long do you think you can keep a secret?" I asked suddenly.

"Why?"

"Just answer me."

"Well with the pack mind it might be a little hard. I guess if I really wanted to I could try not to think about it."

"You see…I want to do something, but I don't want people to say to me: 'Ha, we told you!'"

"What are you talking about?"

"Oh hell, never mind. You'd probably give it away in five minutes."

"Dammit Natalie! What the hell are you talking about?" Paul growled as I tried to get up from the bed.

The operative word in that case was 'tried' because as soon as my butt was a centimeter above the bed he grabbed my arm and gently threw me back against the bed. Then he was looming over me looking down at me all frustrated. Hell, he was sexy when he was all intense like that.

"Are you going to tell me?"

Apparently he was too preoccupied trying to pry information out of me that he didn't realize what kind of position we were in. Honestly, I didn't know how he could not notice my breasts pressed against his chest, and our legs tangled together.

"Oh hell, Paul." I sighed before I did the unthinkable and wrapped my arms around his neck, bringing his lips down onto mine.

It didn't take him long to respond. In less than a second he had us sitting up with me on his lap so he could hold me even closer. I sighed into his mouth as his large hands cupped my face and neck and pressed myself closer to his warmth. His lips skated down the side of my neck as I slid my fingers into his silky hair.

"Can you keep this a secret?" I whispered huskily.

"How can I?" He countered with a grin before his lips hungrily claimed mine again.

When we finally separated I realized there was no way in hell anyone would believe that nothing had happened between us, even if both of us kept our mouths shut. My parents would just take one look at me and know, and as for Paul…they barely needed a glance because of his blinding grin.

"I still expect you to be my best friend, Paul." I informed him seriously as I ran my hands through his hair.

"Of course I am, only now I can kiss you to get you to shut up."

Stupid wolf.

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Fall Out Boy. By the way, when I put song tidbits up here it's mostly from memory, so if it isn't exactly right at least you get the point.**

**Thanks once again for all the awesome reviews, I really appreciate them!**

* * *

"_Me and you_

_Setting in a honeymoon"_

**Me and You**

* * *

It spread like wild fire, but what really got me was the fact that Henry confronted me about it before my own parents did. His Mother really was a horrible gossip. Of course by the next afternoon I was receiving the 'ha I told you so's' but I still had another thing to win.

Now the next bet around the Rez was that we'd be married before a whole year passed. Did they really want to start that process again? I doubted we would be married in a year, if we even married at all.

The one absolute perk of our relationship was that Tobin avoided me at all costs. I wasn't sure if Paul had confronted him or not, but I was completely fine with him ducking out of the teacher's lounge whenever I walked inside.

"So is Mr. Mire going to dress as a turkey for our party tomorrow?" Hannah asked after the final bell of the day had rung.

We were having a Thanksgiving party the next day and then the kids were on break for Turkey Day. This party wasn't going to be as great as the Halloween one, but we were going to make hand turkeys, eat some pumpkin bread, and talk about the first Thanksgiving.

"I don't think so…although that would be pretty funny." I chuckled.

"Well he is coming in isn't he?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah he is."

When the smile lit up her face I knew. She had a crush on Paul! How sweet! I couldn't wait to tell him to see his reaction. He'd probably do one of those guy things like 'what, she's eight?' I'd have a crush on him too if I was eight so I didn't blame her.

Once Hannah had ducked out of the door I started to pack up my stuff for the weekend. I had some projects to grade as well as some math tests. I had already figured out how to squeeze the grading process between stuffing a turkey with my Mom and whipping up pumpkin pies.

I was bent over stuffing stuff into my bag with my back to the door so I didn't see him come in. So when his hands landed on my waist I jumped about a foot in the air and barely avoided hitting my head on his chin.

"Paul!" I screeched.

He grinned and I opened my mouth to scold him, but he beat me to it by covering my lips with his own. I thought about protesting for only a second before I was swept away into his kiss. My arms came up around his neck, and I pressed myself closer against his hard body. It wasn't until his lips skated down my neck that I remembered where we were.

"Paul, stop; there could still be children around." I said breathlessly.

"Fine." He grinned. "But guess what?"

"What?"

"My Mom is coming for dinner!"

I immediately hugged him. Paul hardly saw his Mom anymore ever since his Dad died two years ago in a car accident. She moved away to the Seattle area and with the pack business he could never find the time to get away to see her.

"Did you tell my Mom?" I asked, referring to our little Thanksgiving.

The whole pack was going to have a dinner, but my parents felt that as an 'eventual family unit', which was them assuming Paul and I would be married soon, we needed to have our own dinner.

"Yup, and my Mom knows she'll get to meet my imprint."

I huffed and pulled away from him, "Well I thought I was more than that."

Paul chuckled and placed his hands back on my hips, "My best friend maybe?"

"That's more like it, doofo."

"Doofo?!" Paul asked with a bemused smile.

"Something I came up with to call my brother, but I think it applies to you too. Anyway, I need to get home so I can start on the pumpkin bread." I took a breath. "That reminds me, Hannah has a crush on you."

He made a face, that typical dumb guy face, "That's weird."

"She's a little girl; they have crushes on older men. I remember I had a crush on Mr. Black when I was really little, and then on Sam right before we moved away."

"Billy?!"

"He was so nice and good looking!"

"Sam?" He quirked a brow.

"He saved my puppy from getting hit by a car."

Paul chuckled darkly, "Wait until he sees that in my thoughts."

"Doofo." I muttered.

***

The party went off without a hitch. It didn't live up to the Halloween party, but I had big plans for Christmas that would totally top mummifying Paul and making caramel apples. At the end of the day I sent home my little pumpkin stuffed turkeys and packed up the rest of my stuff for the weekend.

With pies to bake the evening flew by, leaving the house smelling delicious and attracting more than one stray wolf. After Paul kicked them out, he left for the night leaving me with nothing but my stuffed bear to cuddle with for the night.

"You look like I kicked you in the balls." Paul casually stated as he walked past Matt to where I stood in the hallway to the kitchen the next morning.

"Leave him alone; he's upset he can't be with Abby today." I scolded.

"Paul gets to be with you." Matt mumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Everyone gets to be with their imprint but me!"

"Matthew Hanner you will stop that whining right now or so help me…" Mom warned from the kitchen.

We didn't need to see her face to know how serious she was. She had used that classic tone of voice that spelled trouble and when that was combined with the use of your full name…things could end up pretty bad. Back in the day it used to end with a sore butt, nowadays it could be anything; anything from pain to public humiliation.

"Natalie, Paul, get out here and help me."

We jumped to it. Mom put Paul to work carving up the Turkey while I worked on mashing the potatoes to Mom's level of perfection.

"We're not even supposed to really celebrate Thanksgiving." Paul mumbled after Mom 'kindly' told him that he was doing it wrong.

"What do you mean?"

"We're Native Americans! We got screwed! We showed them how to plant some corn and how did they thank us? By giving us small pox and taking our land."

"You can think of it as an excuse to eats tons of food; I think that's why my Mom's family started to do it. That and my Grandpa loved pies and turkey."

Paul nodded thoughtfully, "That is true."

"Exactly, now get back to carving before Mom gets back in here." I hissed before I turned back to the potatoes.

We worked in silence for a few minutes before a car pulled into the driveway. I immediately knew that it was Paul's Mom since she was the only other one we were expecting. So naturally I got nervous…rather quickly. Before Paul could move past me and out of the kitchen I grabbed his arm and turned him to face me.

"What's wrong?" He asked gently.

"Do I look okay?" I asked hesitantly.

Paul took his time letting his eyes roam over my body which was decked out in a pair of dark jeans and a nice purple sweater. When his eyes finally returned to my face I sent him a small scowl before I nervously ran a hand through my hair.

"You're beautiful and as long as you're yourself my Mom will love you."

With that said he grabbed my hand and the two of us headed into the living room where his Mom was talking to my parents. Matt was on the couch pouting, but I hardly paid him any attention as I took in Mrs. Mire.

She was beautiful. I knew that she was in her late forties, but she didn't look it. Her wavy black hair only had a few strands of gray mixed in but they only served to enhance her delicately lined face. When our eyes met she smiled warmly and already I was in love with the lady. She was beautiful.

"This must be Natalie." She smiled as she held out her arms for me.

I didn't hesitate; I walked right into her arms and gave her a quick hug before Paul pulled her into his own bear hug. She pulled away laughing and watched as Paul casually slid his arm around my waist. She then turned to look at my parents.

"I think you're right; they will have good looking kids."

I shot my Dad a look. Seriously Dad?! He just meets the lady and is already talking about her son and his daughter procreating?

"Paul does not look adverse to that idea." She chuckled darkly.

"Well, let's not give them any ideas right now, Penny." My Mom quickly inserted.

"Thank you Mom."

Penny smiled at me, "I was teasing, sweetie. Although, I can't say the same for your Dad. Do you need any help in the kitchen?"

"Well it looks like my two helpers are going to abandon me, so sure." Mom replied.

A half hour later all six of us were gathered around the dining room table digging into our Thanksgiving meal. A quick glance around the table before I turned my attention to applying gravy told me that everyone was enjoying themselves except Matt; no surprise there. Paul was busy shoving food in his mouth at an alarming rate, Dad was listening as Penny and Mom talked about the best wedding months, and I was pouring gravy.

"I've always liked late September." Mom was saying. "I always regretted marrying in July; it was too hot."

"Paul's Father and I were married in May, but I agree; fall is a great time to get married."

"Oh wouldn't Natalie look beautiful with fall colors surrounding her!?" Mom squealed.

"Hey!" I quickly inserted. "First of all, I am not even engaged. Secondly, if I were to be engaged I would decide when the wedding would be."

They ignored me and went back to talking about how pumpkins could be used in a center piece for tables. In fact I wasn't even sure if anyone had heard me besides Paul. He sent me a grin before he placed his hot hand on my upper thigh. I almost choked on the piece of turkey in my mouth when he thumb stroked the inside of my thigh. Even through my jeans it made me shiver.

"Paul." I hissed.

He just grinned in response before he shoved some more turkey in his mouth, but he did not move his hand. That hand was there throughout second helpings and then when Mom served up some pie. He only let go of me when I insisted on using the bathroom.

Penny was in the hallway when I emerged.

"Sorry if we freaked you out at the table, I'm just excited that Paul finally imprinted and on such a wonderful young lady."

I blushed, "Thank you."

"You'll have to forgive us old people for being busybodies." She chuckled.

"It's alright; as long as you guys don't start ordering flower arrangements I'm alright."

***

It was hard to think when Paul's lips were on mine and his arms were wrapped around my body, but I couldn't let him distract me. I had something I needed to say to him…of course one more minute of kissing wouldn't hurt anything.

Ten minutes later I finally succeeded in pushing him off of me; more like he got sick off feeling me nudge him with my hands. With him being all wolfy I didn't exactly have much strength compared to him.

"I want you to promise me something." I stated.

"What?"

"Don't ask me to marry you before we've been dating for at least a year."

"Why?"

"Because we rule our own lives, Paul; not the rest of the reservation."

He scuffed, "If we rule our own lives doesn't that mean that I should be able to ask you whenever I want?"

"No, I said our lives…our life together. You know what…I guess if you do ask, I'll just say no."

"You aren't making much sense right now, so I'm just going to kiss you again."

I rolled my eyes before his lips crushed back down onto mine again. He thought I wasn't being serious! I was a believer in dating someone for more than a few months before marriage. Even if fate had decided we were perfect for each other that didn't mean we couldn't get used to everything about each other before we were married. I didn't want to be like my parents who had a hard first year of marriage when they realized just how annoying the other could be since they married after six months of dating.

"You won't yell at me if I ask you on a date will you?" Paul asked after he separated his lips from mine.

"Of course not." I smiled. "It's about time you take me on an official date."

"How about I pick you up tomorrow at six?"

"Where are we going?" I asked a bit eagerly.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see."


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Blink-182**

**Thanks again for all of the reviews, I really needed them because I have been in more of a reading mood than a writing one.**

* * *

"_In the car I just can't wait,_

_to pick you up on our very first date…"_

**First Date**

* * *

Tonight, I knew, was not going to be a typical first date for me. For one thing, I knew that I wouldn't be a nervous wreck throughout the night, and I was also pretty confident that the evening wouldn't end in one of those awkward waves.

In my life I had had three boyfriends, which pretty much meant three first dates. Unless you counted that time with Cole what's his face, which I didn't. On each of those dates I had fretted the entire day over what to wear and how to do my hair. Did that shirt show off my boobs nicely, did those pants showcase my ass? Tonight I didn't really care. Well I did, but not the same kind of caring.

I was pretty confident that Paul would think I was sexy in a potato sack. So it didn't take me long to decide on my favorite pair of jeans, which made my ass look good, and a purple clingy top. I let my hair down, but not before I straightened all those rebellious waves out of it first. Damn my Father and his white Mother for giving me wavy hair.

"Oh Natalie!" Mom sang up the stairs. "Paul is here!"

By the time I slipped my shoes on and came down the stairs Paul and my Dad were on the couch having a very serious conversation about how much stuff I had and how long it would take to get it into Paul's house.

"Whoa! Excuse me! What is going on here?"

Dad smiled sweetly while Paul sobered up immediately at the daggers I was shooting with my eyes.

"Just planning ahead sweet heart." Dad grinned.

"Jim." Mom warned.

"We all know that it's going to happen eventually!" He cried.

I scuffed before I held out my hand to Paul, "Let's go."

He eagerly grabbed my hand and followed me out of the house and into his truck. Leave it to my Dad to mess up the beginning of our first date. I was beginning to think he was trying to get rid of me.

"I think my Dad wants to get rid of me." I mumbled.

"Aw Natalie, don't say that."

"Come on."

"Yeah, you're probably right. Apparently he's been talking to Matt about finding a job and his own place. He must be eager to enjoy retirement with your Mom."

"Gross!" I shrieked. "'Eh, he's probably sick of wolves hanging around."

Paul grabbed my hand from where it rested between the two of us on the seat and brought it up to his lips for a quick kiss.

"Forget him, tonight is for you."

"Ooh, look at you being romantic." I grinned. "So, what are we doing?"

"I thought we'd have a picnic at the beach."

"Paul, its November."

"I brought blankets! Plus you have me."

I rolled my eyes at the smug look at his face. I had to admit that I did like the idea of the picnic, minus the cold temperatures. Knowing Paul he had probably prepared the picnic too; my Mom had domesticated him. I really loved that lady sometimes.

Sure enough once the blanket was spread out and I peeked inside the basket I saw the sandwiches he'd made along with a couple bags of chips, some water, and about two dozen cookies. I laughed at that; I'd probably only eat two while he would easily 'wolf' down the rest.

"You are so domestic, Paul." I smiled as I handed him his five sandwiches.

"Isn't it great? You need to teach me how to make meals. I think I've got desserts covered now."

"As long as I'm the one you'll be making them for." I teased.

"Of course." He grinned. "You know, that right there was the perfect time for me to ask you to marry me; if you hadn't made me promise of course."

"You wouldn't really want to do it that way would you?"

"I suppose that when I do it, it'll have to be all romantic. Like I could hide it in some food and-"

"I would choke on it."

He laughed, "I know you better than that. You just wait and see."

"Paul, you know we really are only on our first date."

"Wolves and their imprints don't follow those rules. We're a way different situation, Nat."

We continued eating our dinner while the waves crashed against the shore line in front of us. The wind started to pick up while I was starting my cookies so I happily snuggled up closer to Paul while he shoved his own cookies in his mouth two at a time.

"So what's next for tonight?"

"This is it." He replied easily.

"Seriously? It's only eight!"

"I'm kidding." He chuckled. "Now get up and go get in the truck while I pack this stuff up. Turn the heat on until I get there."

I did as he told me, but since his heater was a piece of shit I was freezing by the time he finally climbed in next to me. He laughed as I practically launched myself at him and kissed the top of my head.

"Our next activity is inside." He assured me. "We're going to go back to my place and watch a movie."

"Way to be cheap, Paul." I chuckled.

"I thought it would mean more."

"It does."

It was at that moment that I had an epiphany. I was in love with Paul. I had been before, but that had only been 'hey he's my best friend' love. No, this was definitely the real deal. I wasn't really shocked; as soon as I had heard I was his imprint and what that meant I knew that this day would come. And I was happy that it was here and with him.

"Hey Paul?"

"What?"

"I love you."

So it wasn't one of the most romantic ways to say it. We were in his truck on the way to his house on a cold windy November day and I had just pretty much blurted it out. But it felt right, oh so right.

"I love you too." He grinned…widely as he pulled into his driveway.

Once the truck was in park he grabbed me and maneuvered me so I was straddling his lap, with my back pressed up against the steering wheel. We gazed into each other's eyes for a minute before his lips seized mine, sweeping us both away in passion. My arms wrapped around his neck and he tightened his hold on my hips as our tongues fought for dominance in my mouth.

We finally broke away when the pressure from my back made the horn go off. After that we grudgingly separated and headed into the house to watch the movie. He stuck in some comedy, but we didn't really watch it. Instead we acted like a couple of teenagers and made out during the whole movie.

By the time I got home, my lips were swollen and my hair was mussed, but I had a radiant smile on my face. All three of which my parents noticed with great interest.

***

Tonight was pregnant lady double date night. This meant that while Sam and Jared were out on the town with their ladies, Paul, Matt and I got to watch Abby and Joel. Or to be more exact…Paul and I got to watch Joel while Matt hogged Abby.

So while Matt and Abby played with dolls in the living room, Paul put Joel up on the counter and we pulled out the recipe for Joel's favorite cookies; sugar cut out cookies.

"Paul, see if you can find our cut outs." I directed while I gathered all of our ingredients.

"There's Christmas ones and that's about it." He replied after a minute.

"Grab the star."

"Star!" Joel yelled excitedly.

A kid after my own heart; I too, loved the five pointed shape.

"We're going to make star cookies, Joel." I told him with a smile.

"Yay!"

"I see that he's taking after his father and his uncles; love for food." I remarked before I started measuring up ingredients. "Although the idea of star shaped cookies excites me too."

Paul was about to reply when we both noticed one of Joel's pudgy hands reaching for the knife rack. Paul reacted first and scooped him off the counter and into his arms. Joel just laughed and slapped his hands on Paul's face.

"He's so adorable!" I cried just as Joel planted a noisy kiss on Paul's cheek.

"Wuv yous!"

"Aww!"

"Jeez Nat, you sound like a girl out there!" Matt yelled from the living room.

"I am a girl, in case you missed that." I called back as Paul ruffled Joel's black hair.

"Alright, enough of this cuteness. You two need to help me make some cookies."

An hour later all three of us were covered in flour thanks to Joel and his hands that liked to throw things. Luckily Paul had stopped him before he could chuck an egg at my head. That didn't stop him from throwing flour at the both of us though. We looked like ghosts…or vampires, but I wasn't about to tell Paul that.

"Once the cookies are out of the oven, let's give him a bath."

"I could use one too." Paul sighed. "So do you…hey we could-"

The oven's timer went off then saving me from having to scold Paul even though my own perverted mind conjured up images that I'm sure he had just been thinking of. I distracted myself by handing out a cookie to each of them and then grabbed one for myself.

"This is good." Paul muttered through a mouthful of cookie.

"Mmm!" Joel smiled as he rubbed his belly in appreciation. He really was taking after the rest of the wolves. He probably was spoiled rotten with food with Emily for a Mother; lucky kid.

"Alright, bath time!"

I grabbed Joel's hand and led him up the stairs with Paul following behind us in case Joel stumbled with his chubby little legs.

"Be prepared to get wet, Nat. If he doesn't hesitate to throw flour I doubt he'll hold back with water." Paul chuckled while I turned on the water and he stripped Joel down.

He was right. Joel's simple little bath had turned into an all out water war. At first Paul and I had settled for his splashing us, but then when I accidentally splashed Paul it was all over. The bathroom floor was absolutely wet by the time we were done and all three of us were laughing. If my Mom saw this…well she definitely would not be laughing.

"My Mom is gonna kill us."

"Let her." Paul grinned before he pressed his lips against mine.

The moment was ruined when Joel plopped himself down on my lap naked and stared up at me expectantly.

"I guess that means he's done." I muttered.

"Too bad I'm not done with you."

That sounded like a promise.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Hit the Lights.**

**Since I seem to be on a little bit of a writing roll I decided to post another chapter! Thanks for all of the reviews; in fact they helped inspire me! That and the fact that I got all my math done…**

* * *

"_Stay out all night_

'_cause rest is for the dead,_

_So we won't stop, no we won't stop"_

**Stay Out**

* * *

I don't know how I managed it, but somehow I made it all the way to the mall by myself without Paul tagging along. Not that I didn't like his company…but how was I supposed to buy a Christmas gift for the man if he was right there? I guess I really had Sam to thank for occupying Paul's time with extra patrols.

Paul hadn't told me much, except that they had picked up a vampire scent near the border. They weren't too worried about it; they were pretty sure it was a Cullen back for a visit, but it never hurt to be safe.

Now that I was at the mall, I had no idea what to buy anyone. Well, okay not everyone. Matt definitely needed some new clothes after shredding his own with his sudden angry phasing. I could probably get Kim and Emily some cute baby stuff that they wouldn't already have. I had already commissioned Paul and Jared to make my parents a new dining room table, and the rest of the guys were getting an assortment of cookies and other goodies.

I guess Paul was the only one I didn't know what to buy. He didn't give me much to work off of. When I asked what he wanted for Christmas he replied: 'I've already got you.' Sweet, but not helpful.

It wasn't until I was looking through men's clothing at J.C. Penny for Matt that my aloneness was breached. I could feel someone's eyes boring into my back before I cautiously turned around and saw Michelle standing there looking at me with a pair of men's jeans in her hands.

"Natalie!" She smiled warmly.

"Michelle." I had to restrain myself from rolling my eyes…which was hard let me tell you.

"Doing some Christmas shopping? I'm here shopping for Tobin."

"Um I'm getting my brother some clothes." I replied lamely.

"You have a brother?"

What the hell? Why did she have to be here when I was? Couldn't I just do anything in peace? Apparently not.

"Yeah, I have a younger brother." I said coldly.

Her smile faded at the tone of my voice. Good, she finally gets that I am not about to go skipping through daisies with her. If anything, I'd push her down and keep running.

"Do you have a problem with me?"

What the hell?!

"Um, yeah."

"Well, why?" She asked innocently, batting her huge blue eyes, as if she could do no wrong.

I scuffed before I put a hand on my hip, "Let's see, you stole my best friend and boy friend away from me without a hint of remorse. I don't blame you for his idiocy, but I don't understand how you can expect me to like you after you pull that stunt. Even now, when I realize you actually did me a favor, I'm still not a fan of you okay?"

I left her there, her eyes huge and went to buy my brother some freaking clothes. After that I marched out of that J.C. Penny faster than you could say 'bacon and eggs'. I wasn't really in the Christmas shopping spirit anymore, but somehow I managed to make my purchases for the girls before I headed home.

***

"You said that?!" Kim asked, stunned.

"It needed to be said after all these years, especially if she's going to be living so close." I shrugged before I grabbed a pineapple.

Kim, Abby, and I were doing some grocery shopping while Jared and Paul worked on the table back in Jared and Kim's garage. I needed to get some supplies for my Christmas party at school as well as replenish the food in my house that Paul had eaten. Between him and Matt…things disappeared way too fast. Dad was definitely starting to get annoyed.

"I haven't met her." Kim said. "But Jared has told me about her."

"What did he say?"

"Well, Paul probably doesn't tell you because he already knows you don't like her. But apparently she makes comments about them being Native American all the time, and they're not nice comments either."

"I'm not surprised."

"He didn't say anything bad about Tobin though, just that he's whipped." Kim continued.

"Yeah, he definitely does not wear the pants in that relationship." I chuckled. "I don't have to worry about running into him at school either. Ever since he met Paul he has steered clear of me."

We strolled down the cereal aisle in silence, except for the sound of Abby singing one of her favorite songs. The tune was really starting to get on my nerves, but not because of Abby. No, because of her dumb wolf that liked to hum it around the house all the time.

"So what are you getting Paul for Christmas?" Kim asked suddenly.

"I have no idea."

She laughed, "You'll figure it out. I decided to get Jared a new easy chair."

"That's such a wife gift."

She stuck her tongue out at me before she grabbed a box of Cheerios and placed it into the bottom part of the cart. Abby started to reach for the Lucky Charms, but Kim expertly maneuvered the cart away before her sticky fingers could make contact.

"You have to help me Kim." I cried.

"Well, let's see. The first Christmas Jared and I were together I think I got him a watch."

"A watch?"

"He was always late picking me up, of course then I didn't know that he was a wolf." She explained with a small smile. "What did Paul say he wanted?"

"He said he already had me."

She rolled her eyes, "Sweet, but so unhelpful."

"Don't I know it."

***

"Whatcha doing?"

I jumped and spun around with my hand clutched to my chest. Leave it to Paul to sneak up on me while I was wrapping Christmas presents. Luckily I wasn't wrapping his; mostly because I still hadn't figured out what to get him yet.

"A little warning next time would be great." I rolled my eyes.

"I can't help that I'm stealthy."

I rolled my eyes and turned back to the box that contained part of Matt's Christmas present. The house was silent…well it had been before Paul had decided to sneak up on me. My parents had gone Christmas shopping and Matt was over at Jared and Kim's.

"Is my present here?" Paul asked with a smirk.

"No, because you won't tell me what you want!"

He laughed and pulled me into his warm arms, forcing me to put the tape dispenser down. He could be so frustrating sometimes, especially when he tried to use his charms on me so I would shut up.

"Seriously Paul, I need some guidance here."

"I managed to find you a present without your input." He shrugged.

Oh great, I'd probably end up with a singing beer bottle opener or something. Or an engagement ring. The singing bottle opener sounded more appealing at the moment. As much as I loved Paul, I was not ready to be married to him. And not just because that was what everyone wanted for us.

"I know you'll figure something out." Paul whispered into my ear before his lips connected with the skin just below my ear.

I shivered and thought about pushing him away, but then his lips skated over to my throat and then up to my lips and I was lost.

***

"The way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Mom stated casually after I asked her advice on a gift for Paul.

"Mom! I already have his heart and he eats my food all the time!"

"Well you could have sex with him." She stated casually, as if she wasn't telling her daughter to have sex with a man that wasn't her husband!

"Mother! Whatever happened to 'waiting until marriage'?"

"I'll be honest with you, Natalie. I think you're old enough now to know that you were not conceived on our honeymoon. I was a month pregnant when we were married. So you didn't come early."

My mouth actually dropped open. All these years they had been lying! Not only to me but to both sets of my Grandparents. They were all dead now, but I was sure after this little confession they were probably all rolling in their graves.

"We told everyone that because we knew it would hurt both of your Grandmothers. That and my Dad might've come after your Father with his favorite shot gun."

"So basically you've been a hypocrite?"

Mom sighed heavily, "Yeah, I suppose it can be seen that way. But I was just protecting you; look at all you've achieved. If I hadn't of ingrained those morals into you growing up you might've ended up with a baby right now instead of a job doing what you love."

I suppose she was right. I wasn't really mad at her too much because I knew that the way she raised me was the right way. If more parents took the time to teach those kinds of morals to their children, there wouldn't be so many teenage parents out there. I understood that not everyone believed in abstinence before marriage, but my parents also taught me how to be smart about sex. Basically if I was going to do it, then be smart about it and not get pregnant.

"Anyway, I only said that because I know that you're going to end up with Paul forever. So if you did get pregnant it wouldn't really matter anyway." Mom shrugged.

"I think I'll buy him something Mom. But thanks for the input."

As I had gotten older my Mom had certainly become more candid with me. I was starting to realize that she was a sexual being. Of course I had always known that my parents had sex, but now it was becoming clear just how much they did. Fact number one, Dad wanted both Matt and I gone. Fact number two, the twinkle in Mom's eyes when we just had that conversation. And fact number three, the noises I heard at night when they thought we were all asleep. Even Paul had heard them one of the nights he stayed over.

"What were you two talking about?" Dad asked curiously when I walked into the living room.

"Nothing." I said quickly, feeling my face flush a little.

"Sex." Mom answered as she walked into the room and sat down on Dad's lap. "I finally told her the truth."

Dad grinned, "Told her she was born right on time?"

"Yes, thanks for that." I sighed, wondering if my ears were bleeding.

"We were in love." Dad stated. "Still are."

With that said they started to nuzzle their faces together and I took that as my exit cue. At first I headed for my room, but when I heard the giggles and moans from the living room I grabbed my purse and headed outside to my car. No way was I going to stick around and hear that!

I found myself driving in the direction of the mall; I didn't know what I was going to buy, but I had the feeling that I was going to find something.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to My Chemical Romance**

**Yay an update! Thanks to all my reviewers yet again. I'm putting this one out here to hold you guys over while I study for two exams and a math quiz.**

* * *

"_Tell me I'm an angel,_

_Take this to my grave."_

**House of Wolves**

* * *

"Here comes Santa Clause, here comes Santa Clause, right down Santa Clause lane!" Matt sang to a smiling Abby.

Yes it was cute, but since that happened to be her favorite Christmas song I had heard it time and time again. And frankly I hated the freaking song now. Thankfully it was Christmas Eve and that meant that soon all the Christmas song singing would be over soon.

Tonight Mom was having a big dinner with everyone we had become close with. That happened to include Kim, Jared, Abby, Sam, Emily, Joel, Paul and Paul's Mom. After we ate we would open gifts which left Christmas day for fun and games…and lots of food.

"Matt, if you don't quit singing that song I'll put you on a double patrol tomorrow night." Sam growled from his position in one of the easy chairs.

At the moment he didn't look too intimidating. Yes, he may have growled, but the giggling toddler on his lap kind of ruined the effect.

"But its Abby's favorite!" Matt protested.

"Matthew!" Mom warned from the kitchen.

Man that lady had good hearing for a mere mortal. I wasn't the only one that happened to notice that fact. Paul looked at me with a smile on his face and Sam just shook his head as a smirk appeared on his lips.

"Shouldn't you be helping your Mother?" Paul whispered near my ear, causing shivers to race down my spine.

"She didn't want my help." I replied. "She probably wanted to gossip about me to Emily, Kim and your Mom."

"Actually that's exactly what they're doing." Jared stated as he walked back into the living room from his brief mission to the kitchen. He'd gone in there to inquire about dinner and emerged with a couple cheese squares which were promptly shoved into his mouth.

"Figures." I rolled my eyes.

They were probably in there discussing my love life. More importantly the fact that I wasn't about to go and have sex with Paul. Ever since that revealing talk with my Mom she kept bringing it back up in different ways. One day I walked into my room to find a box of extra large condoms. Another day there had been a pamphlet about birth control pills. And to top it off just yesterday there was a sex book on my bed filled with different sexual positions and she had a couple bookmarked!

"Dinner is served!" Mom called finally.

Thankfully the conversation at the table steered clear of Paul and I and stayed on safer topics like the guy's construction work and my class Christmas party.

"The kids loved when Paul came in dressed as Santa." I smiled. "All the kids got a turn on his lap, but Hannah figured us out."

"What did she do?" Kim asked with a smile.

I laughed at the memory. "She screamed 'Mr. Mire' and attacked him with a hug."

"Aww, she's got a crush!" Emily cooed.

I looked over and saw Paul's face actually flush. Was my big bad wolf embarrassed that a seven year old had a crush on him? The conversation quickly changed subjects, but I was still looking over at Paul. I gave him a smile before I rested my hand on his thigh and squeezed. He sent me a warning look before his own hand came down on my upper thigh.

"There will be none of that at the dinner table." Mom stated casually.

We both jerked our hands away as everyone's eyes snapped to us. What happened to her wanting me to have sex with Paul? Now I place a hand on his thigh and she decides to be a stern parent.

"There are children present." She continued.

Oh okay, that made sense.

The tree was surrounded by presents as we gathered around it. Matt and Paul made quick work of passing them out before they took their respective seats; Paul next to me and Matt on the floor with Abby and Joel.

The only gift that wasn't under the tree was my gift to Paul. The poor sucker would have to wait until everyone else had opened theirs before I took him to his present. Mom would be disappointed that it wasn't my body, but I had come up with something better.

We let the kids open all their stuff first before we went around one by one until it was just down to Paul and me who still hadn't given each other our presents.

"Where's my present?" He asked as after he looked under the now empty tree.

"I have to take you to it, so let me open yours first." I insisted as I held out my hand for the little box he held in his hand. It was too big to be a ring box so I wasn't too concerned at the moment. I could tell that he wanted me to go last, but with a sigh he handed it over while everyone watched us closely.

"A key?"

"Will you move in with me?"

I heard a few happy squeals and looked over just in time to see the happy grin on my Dad's face as he winked at my Mother. Ew! It was in that moment I had my answer.

"Yes! I need to get away from them!" I replied before I threw my arms around his neck and whispered, "Thanks for saving me from their horniness."

"Of course; now where is my present?"

"Yeah, where is his present?" Jared asked with a quirked brow.

"We've got to go outside and into the shed."

I knew everyone was confused, meanwhile I was giggling in glee. I couldn't believe I had managed to keep his present a secret from everyone, and it was a great one at that.

They all followed me out to the shed where I stopped and made them wait while I went inside and shut the door. I was in there for a few minutes before I emerged with a big box in my hands. The box was wrapped, but in such a way that all Paul had to do was pull off the lid.

"Alright, open it." I smiled after I had set the box down on the ground.

Everyone crowded around as Paul lifted the box from the lid and looked at the contents. No one else could see what was inside so when he pulled out a small silver and black puppy everyone was surprised, especially Paul.

"Meet your new half wolf puppy." I beamed. "I didn't name him yet."

"He's half wolf?" Paul asked as one of his hands stroked the pup's fur.

"Yup; on my way to the mall I saw a sign that said puppies for sale. The guy had a German shepherd that got lose and came back pregnant. He still had three puppies, but I knew this guy was the best; since he matches your wolf form and all."

"Great thinking, Nat." Kim chuckled.

"Do you like him?" I asked Paul a bit nervously.

Paul's eyes shot up to meet mine before he snuggled the puppy against his chest, "Of course I do! I love him."

"What are you going to name him?" Sam asked.

"I'll come up with something eventually." Paul grinned.

***

"You named him Steve?!"

Both Paul and…Steve looked up at me hesitantly from their position on the living room floor. We had just finished moving all my crap into Paul's house and he had finally announced to me what he named the dog. Steve…Steve the half wolf. I was expecting something fierce, not Steve.

"He looks like a Steve." Paul shrugged.

"Steve is a human name!" I protested. "How about something like Fluffy, or Moonlight or something! But Steve?"

"Yeah that's what I was thinking too, but Nat, he really likes the name Steve." Paul explained.

I looked at him like he was crazy.

"Okay so last night he was sitting on my lap and I was watching how he reacted to names. I went through all dog like names that seemed appropriate and he didn't seem to like any of them. So then I got frustrated and said the first name that came to mind: Steve. And he barked and licked my face, Nat! I can't say no to that!"

I lowered myself to the floor with my two boys and immediately Steve ran over to me and cuddled into my lap. I knew that in a matter of months he would be huge, but for now it was nice to have a little lap puppy.

"So Steve huh?" I said with a smile, to which Steve responded by barking excitedly.

"Told you."

"I can't say no to this face." I sighed. "Fine, our half _wolf_ is named Steve. Now let's talk about sleeping arrangements, buddy."

"I thought we'd share a bed." Paul stated casually as he scooted closer to Steve and I.

My eyebrow shot up at him, "I do like sleeping with you, but not if there's going to be any funny business."

"I promise there won't be any funny business that you don't ask for." He grinned cockily as he stroked Steve's soft fur. "But if you ask for it; who am I to deny you?"

***

Paul and I had slept in the same bed before, but that bed had been my old double bed in my parent's house. Now we were snuggled up in his giant King size bed. It was a nice comfortable bed, and with Paul's arms around me it was even more comfortable. So comfortable that I was starting to get ideas.

"Aren't you asleep yet?" Paul whispered tiredly.

"No."

"Why not? Thinking of my sexy body pressed up against yours?"

"Well yeah, but don't be so cocky, Paul." I rolled my eyes, knowing that with his extra wolfy senses he would be able to see in the darkness of the room.

"Plus you're kinda hot."

"I know."

"No, I mean I'm hot." I sighed.

Paul threw the blanket off of us, leaving us covered only by the thin sheet. If I had been in bed on my own on this cold December night I would have been freezing, but with Paul's warmth I was just right.

"Better?"

"Mmhmm."

"I bet I can make you even better." He chuckled before he turned and lowered his lips to mine.

I sighed in contentment and brought my arms up to wrap around his neck. His tongue slid past my lips as my fingers slid up into his silky hair and we both moaned as our tongues met. He finally pulled away when we both needed air, only to skate his lips down the side of my neck and to my collarbone. My hands slid down his bare back and moved up to hold onto his shoulders while he kissed his way back up to my lips. His lips were almost back to mine when a bark broke through the silence.

Paul pulled away from me and we both looked down to see our little puppy at the foot of the bed looking up at us longingly. Paul huffed and laid back down, obviously sexually frustrated. I, however, reached down and picked him up to join us.

"Nat, don't let him sleep with us." Paul whined.

"But he looks so sad, Paul. He misses his Mommy!"

"This is how it starts. Soon he'll be over one hundred pounds and hogging the bed."

I ignored him and laid back down with Steve nestled close to me. I heard Paul huff again before he cuddled up behind me, his arm hanging over my waist so his hand was resting on Steve's fur. All three of us fell asleep like that.

When I woke up the next morning it was to see Steve curled up against Paul's chest. I chuckled before I carefully removed myself from under Paul's heavy arm.

"Where are you going?" He mumbled sleepily.

"To get the camera." I replied before I dashed to my nightstand that had my camera on the top of it.

Before he could register what I was talking about I had already snapped a picture of my two wolves cuddling. Wait until the guys saw this one.


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Weezer.**

**Lots of things are going to be happening in the next few chapters and for those of you who feel it will be too fast or whatever, it is necessary for the plan I have had in my head since I started writing the story. And thanks again for all the great reviews!**

* * *

"_Imma do the things that I wanna do_

_I aint got a thing to prove to you."_

**Pork and Beans**

* * *

Steve was huge, but even though he was part wolf he acted more like a normal puppy towards people. Nobody on the rez was fooled by his sharp teeth and large frame, especially when that tongue lolled out of his mouth and his tail swooshed back in forth in excitement.

After six months of living together Steve, Paul, and I made quite the little family. It was already June and my first year of teaching was over. I had thrown a big end of the year party that had been even better than the Christmas one. Already kids moving up from second grade were excited to be in my class because of the awesome parties I threw. I loved teaching, I loved it here, and I loved my wolves.

In May both Kim and Emily had given birth to daughter's two weeks apart from each other. Kim had popped first and brought Adelaide Marie into the world; that she insisted we call Addy. So now Kim and Jared had an Abby and an Addy. Emily had given birth to Beatrice Rose two weeks later, and Joel had immediately dubbed her 'Bee' since that was really all he could say of his baby sister's name.

But that wasn't the most exciting news about these new births. Both of these darling little girls had been imprinted on within the first few hours of their lives. An hour after Addy was born Embry walked into the room and with one look he was captivated by her. The same happened to Beatrice when Jacob came in for a visit.

Jared was completely outraged; both of his daughters he now had to share with another wolf. Sam was pissed as well, but not nearly as much as Jared was. It took Paul, Matt, and Seth nearly an hour to calm Jared down out in the woods before he hurt Embry. As for Sam, he punched Jacob in the face then went back to his wife's side.

I couldn't help but wonder if anyone would imprint on any future daughters I might possibly have. Seth, Collin, and Brady were still free men. I knew Paul would probably be pissed, but I didn't really care. I'd probably handle it just like Kim and Emily did; an extra pair of much needed hands.

"What are you doing?" Paul asked as he came up behind me in my big fluffy reading chair.

Steve was lying at my feet and only glanced up at Paul with a bored look before he closed his eyes again for his puppy nap. Yes, even though he was huge he was still technically my puppy. Or…well…Paul's puppy.

"I'm sitting here."

"Doing?"

"Nothing."

"Good, Seth imprinted last night and we're going to meet her at the bonfire tonight. So go get dressed while I feed Steve and we'll head out."

"Seth imprinted?!" I squealed.

He rolled his eyes at me, "Yes, now go."

Now there were only two candidates left to imprint on any future daughters Paul and I may have; if we even had daughters. Of course that wouldn't be for a little while since we were still celibate and unmarried.

***

"Have you and Paul had sex yet?" Mom asked casually as if we weren't in the store where anyone walking by could hear us.

"No!" I hissed. "Do you have to be so loud?"

"Jeez, I'm ready for some Grandchildren, Natalie."

"Mom, I'm not even married yet."

She gave me one of those classic mom looks, "Whose fault is that? We all know what you're playing at. We all said you'd get married before a year and you're going to try to prove us wrong even though you should do it anyway."

I remained quiet. Hell, she was right. Not that I wanted to give in on my principles though. Nobody told us how to live our lives but ourselves, but it was getting pretty hard to just sleep in the same bed with Paul. Yeah we could have sex before we were hitched, but I didn't want to do that…yet.

"No one is going to say 'I told you so' if you guys get married a little sooner." Mom smiled and I gave her a skeptical look. "Okay so maybe your Dad will, but I'll shut him up."

I didn't want to think about how she would shut him up. Once I had moved out at Christmas time, Matt had done the same; moving in with Seth, Collin, and Brady. Heaven only knew what happened in our house now. In fact, I had a sick feeling that they had christened the new dining room table as soon as the two of us were gone.

"I know it's got to be hard just to sleep next to that hunk of man. Believe it or not, Nat, but your Dad used to be ripped. He started to lose it when you were seven or eight, but man…"

"Gross, and yes it is hard."

"I'll bet _he_ is."

"Mom!"

What had happened to my quiet and private Mom? Menopause had really done a number on this lady because she didn't used to embarrass me every time we talked. Now it was a too common occurrence. I was happy that my parents were still in love with each other after all these years, but I didn't need details.

"I'll tell you what, Nat. When you and Paul start to have sex, make love, whatever you want to call it you can tell me all the details."

"Um I probably won't."

"But you can if you want to; embarrass me for a change."

Would that even be possible?

***

"Hey! You two be careful with Joel!" I shouted after a quick glance into the living room from the kitchen.

Paul had Joel up on Steve's back and was leading him around the living room. Joel was enjoying himself, giggling, and digging his chubby hands into Steve's soft fur. I wasn't too worried that he would fall off, unless Steve got excited all of a sudden.

"We're fine, Nat." Paul called back and I could just tell he had rolled his eyes at me.

In return I rolled my eyes and went back to preparing dinner for the three of us. Sam and Emily were having a date night tonight. Jake was more than happy to take Beatrice for the night, and I immediately volunteered to take little Joel; he loved both Paul and I and we never had a problem with him.

"Alright, dinner is ready, boys!" I called once the pork was done in the oven.

Paul walked in with Joel on his hip, both of them shirtless. My eyes immediately roamed over his body appreciatively and I felt shivers race down my spine, but not just because of his body. No, because of the image of him with a child in his arm; it was freaking sexy as hell. Jeez, after this episode sleeping next to him was going to be great tonight.

It was bad enough that the sexual tension between the two of us was at an all time high; the littlest things set us off into a make out fest. I bent over to tie my shoe, stood back up bam! Paul's lips were crushed to mine. Paul cleaning the dishes in the sink, turned around and bam! My legs are wrapped around his waist and our lips were fused together.

Those were only a few examples of what had been going on between the two of us. Usually we were able to part from each other, but other times we came dangerously close before something like Steve interrupted us and knocked us back to our senses.

I was seriously getting to the point where I was going to let Paul break the promise I made him make. Stupidest thing I had done…lately.

"Like what you see?" Paul asked cockily as he put Joel down in the chair we had rigged up with one of those trays for toddlers.

"You know I do." I replied easily as I finished putting dishes on the table.

We were halfway through dinner and I had just finished wiping Joel's hands after he had too much fun with the mashed potatoes when Paul just asked me:

"How many kids should we have?"

"Isn't it a little early for this discussion?"

He cocked a brow at me, "I don't know, is it?"

"Touché, Mire." I grinned. "But in all honesty I only want two kids."

"Why just two?"

"Well, okay I want one of each and I would go for three to try and get one of each." I clarified. "Although, we really should only have two children…whenever that time comes."

"Why is that?" He asked curiously.

"To keep the birth rate down."

Paul finished chewing before he put down his fork and looked at me with a quirked brow. He didn't even have to ask me to explain, that one look said it all.

"In college I took a class about people and the environment. The fact is people should only have two children, one to replace the woman, the other to replace the man."

Paul rolled his eyes, "College graduates."

"Hey! That's just the truth of it, doofo. I wouldn't exactly object to three children. If it happens it happens."

"Oh so now I'm a doofo because I didn't go to college?"

I sighed, but yet I still had a smile on my face. Joel was completely oblivious to what was going on around him as he happily ate his mashed potatoes, making a mess yet again.

"Shut up." I finally said, at a loss for something better to say in return.

He grinned, "I won."

"You're still a doofo."

***

I was bored. I was alone and bored, and that usually ended up being trouble. The guys were building a house somewhere outside of Forks so that left me alone with Steve for the day. It might have been June, but it sure didn't feel that way. It was only sixty degrees outside and even though it wasn't raining, the sun was nowhere to be found.

So I started going on a cleaning spree. Nothing was safe from some form of disinfectant. Even Steve got a bath; which was an experience in itself. By the time that was over I had to thoroughly clean the bathroom and change into some dry clothes.

Then around four there was only one room left untouched, the basement. I had only been down there once, and that was when I first moved in. My extra crap, which consisted mostly of college stuff, was nestled in one corner and in the other sat Paul's things. Naturally curiosity got the best of me and I started to look in one of his boxes.

There were some old trophies from various sports from his junior high days and some other boyhood junk before a small photo album caught my eye. It was pink and had hearts on it; definitely not something Paul would pick out for himself. It was practically begging to be opened, so without hesitating I pulled it out of the box and opened it to the first page.

There was a picture of Paul kissing some girl. I could tell it was an old picture; he looked like he was sixteen…definitely before the wolf in him started to come out. A quick flip through the rest of the album confirmed that this girl had been his girlfriend for a few months before I reached the last page which contained a letter to Paul. Yeah I wanted to read it, but I did have some respect.

"Whatcha got there?"

I jumped and spun around to face Paul a bit guiltily. So I hadn't read the letter, but I had gone through his things.

"Um…"

"My photo album?" He grinned. "It's okay I don't mind."

"Who was she?"

"My first serious girlfriend, we broke up after I turned wolf and she moved away." He explained.

"How serious were you guys?" I found myself asking.

"If you're asking if we had sex, the answer is yes."

"Oh."

"But she's the only one, and after you there'll never be anyone else."

I dropped the book at those words; possibly the sexiest words I had heard all week out of his mouth. Of course I hadn't seen him much, but still. So, I launched myself at him. We didn't pull away for a few minutes and when we did I couldn't believe what was coming out of my mouth.

"Paul, I want you to ask me to marry you."


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to The Maine**

**I'm not sure how you guys will react to this. But everything I do is to help me reach my original goal. Thanks for the reviews!**

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"_She's fresh to death she'll be the death of you_

_Seduction leads to destruction_

_Oh she's fresh to death she'll be the death of me._

_She's fresh, she's fresh but not so clean."_

**The Way We Talk**

* * *

I probably deserved this. No, I knew that I did. I shouldn't have made him promise me in the first place and now, since I had 'released' him from said promise, I just expected him to drop down on one knee and present a ring to me. Basically…I had made him wait and now it was my turn. Bastard.

I hated waiting. Yes, I realized just how much of a hypocrite I was. But unlike Paul I wasn't just going to sit around and wait. This brought me to what I was doing at this very moment. I laughed a bit evilly as I thought of my entire plan for the night. Since it was still only Steve and I in the house he looked up at me and cocked his head to the side at the sound of my evil laughter.

"Don't look at me like that." I stated as I put the finishing touches on dinner, but of course Steve kept staring at me.

"It's not like he won't enjoy it!" I declared before I headed upstairs to get changed.

Hell… that dog had succeeded in making me feel guilty for what I was going to do tonight; with his cute and confused furry face staring up at me with those big chocolate eyes. I couldn't let myself dwell on it; instead I got dressed.

By the time I was done it was just about time for Paul to get home. Steve was already watching out the front window for him like an eager child would wait for his father. Of course I was beginning to realize just how much Steve was like a child to us. He slept with us, he ate with us, and we loved him a whole lot. Steve had to be the best dog ever hands down. After a quick pat to his head I dashed into the kitchen to check on the food, and then I waited.

Like clockwork I heard the rumble of his truck right at five thirty five. I only had to wait another minute until I heard Steve's excited barks as the front door opened.

"Hey boy! Did you keep Nat out of trouble today?" Paul greeted, to which Steve barked again. Good thing Steve couldn't talk because he would surely have some secrets to share. Not just about tonight, but about that one day I had gone around the house in just my skivvies singing some Phantom of the Opera music.

"Nat!? Something smells delicious. Where are you-"

It was at that point that I appeared in the doorway to the kitchen and he saw me for this first time. The look on his face sent shivers down my spine as he practically eye raped me. Just the reaction I had been hoping for in my little black dress Mom had bought me for Christmas. Paul had seen it, but never on me. And judging by the look on his face and the tent in his pants, he liked it.

"Dinner's ready." I smiled as if I wasn't purposely taunting him with my body.

"Screw dinner." Paul declared passionately as he marched towards me. I stayed right where I was and let him grab me by the hips and pull me flush against his body. We both groaned at the contact before his lips crashed down onto mine. This was no 'I love you' tender kiss, this was raw passion with a heavy dose of lust; just what I had been aiming for.

His tongue dominated my mouth as he hitched one of my legs around his hip and thrust against me. Our moans were simultaneous. Holy hell, this was getting out of hand fast! Somehow I managed to separate our lips and pull far enough away to look into his lust glazed eyes.

"Dinner will burn."

"Who cares?" He growled and then tried to capture my lips again. I almost let him, but I couldn't compromise my entire mission for the night!

"I care; I spent hours on that turkey." I said shooting my best puppy eyes at him. My puppy eyes usually always worked on him just like Steve's always did too. In fact, Steve was how I found out about how susceptible Paul was to puppy eyes. I'd never failed once so I wasn't surprised when Paul sighed, dropped my leg and pushed me into the kitchen.

Success! I had cock blocked him! Step one of my evil plan was complete. Now to feed him a delicious home cooked meal.

He was quiet throughout dinner, but as he ate the turkey and the side dishes that went along with it his eyes devoured me. I was happy with the silence; that meant there was nothing to distract him from his lust filled thoughts. It also gave me the perfect opportunity to 'accidentally' rub my foot against his leg.

"That's it!" He finally shouted as he jumped up from his chair and walked over to mine. I didn't even have time to protest before he pulled my chair out, picked me up, and carried me towards the stairs.

"Steve will get into the food, Paul!"

He sighed, turned around, spotted Steve in the living room and called him to follow us. Once we were upstairs he shut him in the room across the hall and then carried me into our room where he tossed me onto the bed.

"I know what game you're playing, Nat." He whispered huskily. "And it's a good thing I respect you enough to give you a ring before I make love to you."

With that said he reached over to his bedside table and pulled out a ring box from the drawer.

"I've had this ring since November," he began, "so it's long past due to be on your finger. Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" I shrieked excitedly.

He slipped the ring on my finger before he placed a tender 'I love you' kiss on my lips.

"Now back to where we were." He grinned. "That is if being engaged is enough for you?"

"Oh! Let's just do it! Who knows how long Mom will take to plan the wedding!?"

Yeah so I had said I didn't want sex before marriage, but things changed. If I had fallen in love with any other man I would have stuck to my principle because there's always the chance a man will change his mind, but I was Paul's imprint. Well, that and I was horny as hell.

***

"You finally did it?!" Mom shrieked.

Really Mom? Hell, she was more excited that we had finally had sex than the fact that we were engaged to be married. At least Dad had had the decency to jump for joy about that. He even pointed a finger in my face and said: 'I told you so'. True to her word, Mom had gotten him to shut up with a well placed slap to the head.

"How was it? How was he? Was he huge?"

"Mom!"

"Oh come on, Natalie. A man his size has to be packing something. Now share with your mother, sweetie."

"Fine, but only because I have a question." I stated. "It was wonderful; he was passionate and tender, not to mention very attentive. As for size…I don't have anything to compare him to. What's the average size anyway?"

Mom smirked, "About six inches erect I think."

"Oh."

"Oh? What does that mean? Your Dad is at least six and a half, is Paul bigger?!"

"Mother! Why would you tell me that about my Dad?!"

I made a promise to myself in that moment. Never would I ever tell my daughter the size of her father's penis. That shit was life scarring. In fact I probably would never submit her to the kind of torture that my Mother had been doing to me. Of course all of this was easy to say now. Who knew? Maybe in twenty years or so I would be doing the same thing. I shuddered at the thought.

"He was bigger, but I'm not about to whip out a measuring tape on him. And that's the end of this conversation. Anyway, I was thinking an autumn wedding at the end of September with red as my color."

"Ooh! Wait until I tell Penny we can use our pumpkin idea!"

Thank God I had successfully changed topics on her. Who knew how long she could go on about penises and sex in general? I never wanted to find out.

***

My first order of business for the wedding preparations was finding the perfect wedding dress. My Mom and Penny had almost everything under control and they wanted it that way, so I let them. So that left me with only a few decisions, one of them being dresses.

So today's mission was to find a dress for me and bride's maid dresses for Kim and Emily. Kim was going to be my maid of honor which worked out great because Jared was going to be Paul's best man. In fact his other groomsman was going to be Sam, so that all worked out nicely.

"You need to find a style that will flatter both of us." Kim smiled as we started searching through the racks.

It was just the three of us today. Their kids were with their Dad's and Penny and my Mom were busy making floral arrangements with fake flowers. Those two sure knew how to get things done because it was already the beginning of August and they were already halfway through what needed to be done by September twenty seventh.

"I'm not the kind of bride that would give you two hideous dresses." I assured them.

I had only been in one wedding in my life, but as the flower girl. If memory served me correctly that dress had been poofy, pink, and itchy. I seemed to recall that the bridesmaids' dresses weren't that much different.

That's when I spotted the deep red halter dresses across the room. I immediately walked over to them and pulled one off the rack to show to the other two. Their eyes roamed over the contours of the dress and then back at me.

"Hell yes I'll wear that!" Kim squealed. "Give me one to try on."

Twenty minutes later the two of them were standing in front of the three way mirror admiring themselves in the dresses. It was hard to believe they both had just had babies two months ago with bodies like theirs.

"What do you think guys?"

"Please say you want these dresses." Emily smiled.

"I do. Now get changed and help me!"

I already had an idea of what I wanted in a wedding dress. I didn't want any of that poofy shit that women seemed to favor for a skirt, and I certainly did not want a mermaid dress. I wanted something with a full skirt that gathered at the waist, making it look even smaller than it was. Preferably with straps, but I wasn't too picky about that as long as they made sure my boobs didn't fall out.

We looked around for a half hour before something caught my eye. Emily and Kim were talking to me but it was as if I was being drawn to the thing. Once I pulled it out to look at I understood why; it was the perfect dress…for me anyway. Kim and Emily immediately stopped talking and took in the dress with me.

It was pretty much exactly what I wanted; it gathered at the waist, had a full skirt, flower designs on the skirt, bodice, and back. In a word it was…Natalie.

"Go put that on now." Kim ordered.

She didn't have to tell me twice, I ran straight for the dressing rooms like a woman possessed. And in a sense I was. I was practically salivating over this dress! I had to fit into it! If I didn't…I would cry. Well maybe not cry, but I would be very sad and disappointed in myself for eating all those cookies Paul kept making. That's right, Paul was no longer just a member of the La Push wolf pack, my Mom and I had managed to fully immerse him into the world of baking.

But by some sort of miracle it fit perfectly; almost as if it was made for me. With a huge smile on my face I opened the dressing room door and walked over to the three way mirror where my friends were waiting. They gasped when the saw me and once I looked in the mirror I understood why.

"You look beautiful, Natalie." Emily smiled.

"If you don't buy this dress I'll sick your Mom on you." Kim warned.

"I'm buying it; don't worry about that, Kim."

And I did…it was six hundred dollars but in a way I was making an investment. Yeah I would only wear it one day, but maybe in the future my daughter would like it well enough to wear it on her special day. I hated my Mom's dress, but she'd been married in the eighties so it was totally understandable.

"I can't wait for Paul to see you in this." Kim chuckled. "I'm glad your Mom is getting the wedding filmed, I want a copy."

***

"Paul, I found the most wonderful dress today!" I shrieked as I climbed into bed with him in my comfy summer pajamas that consisted of a pair of shorts and one of Paul's huge t-shirts.

"Is it in the closet?"

"No, I hid it at my parent's house so you couldn't peak!" I laughed as Steve jumped up onto the foot of the bed with us.

"Steve, out!" Paul ordered.

"Why do you have to kick him out?" I asked before Steve could move.

Steve had been about to move, but when he heard me and felt my hand on his back he stayed right where he was.

"I thought we could have a little repeat of the night I proposed to you." Paul grinned.

"Oh no mister, I am not taking the risk of getting pregnant. That dress fits me perfectly." I shook my head.

"Oh come on, if you did get pregnant it'd only be a month away and you'd hardly gain anything!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes. So basically it was okay if I did get pregnant just as long as he got some loving in tonight? Well that wasn't going to work for me. I had been relieved to have my period last week and I wasn't about to go through that stress again before my wedding. It wasn't that I didn't want a baby soon, but I didn't want to be pregnant before my wedding. However, I was not opposed to having a honeymoon baby.

"Good night Paul."

He sighed, "'Night, Nat."

He sounded so defeated and I couldn't help but laugh a little at his sexual frustration, "Love you, snookems."

"Snookems?"

"Yup."

"Alright, love you too, baby cakes."


	15. Chapter 15

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**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Taylor Swift

**Here is the next installment of When You Go, hopefully you guys like it. :D It's kind of short, but the next chapter won't be. Thanks once again to all the awesome reviews from you faithful readers!**

* * *

"_Marry me Juliet, _

_you'll never have to be alone,_

_I love you and that's all I really know"_

**Love Story**

* * *

"Natalie, Steve keeps running away from me!" Kim cried as she stormed into my old bedroom that was currently being used as a dressing room.

Paul and I were getting married in my parent's huge backyard, so the house had been divided between the two of us. We girls had the upstairs, and he and the guys had the downstairs. Steve ran back and forth between the two of us, but I was sure that now he probably had gone back downstairs for good. He was going to stand up with Paul and I and Kim had been trying to get a bow tie on him for an hour.

"Give it here." I demanded, ignoring my Mother's warnings about my dress. "Steve!"

Just like the dutiful dog he is he ran in at the sound of my voice and sat obediently at my feet, looking up at me expectantly. I gave him my best stern look before I bent down and slid the doggie bow tie over his head so it settled over his collar.

"You better keep that on, buddy." I warned before I stroked his ears. "Now go mess with Paul."

And just like that he was off probably to beg food off of Paul and the guys; as if they'd share their precious food.

"I love your dog." Emily smiled. "He's so well trained."

"It's the tone of voice." I informed her. "I use the same tone on Paul and it always works."

"Ah, the powers of imprinting." Kim giggled before she bent down to fix the bow on Abby's dress.

Abby was going to be our little flower girl. It was only fitting since in about eighteen years she might be my sister in law. Weird to say it, but that was how imprinting worked. She looked adorable in her little cream colored dress with a satin red bow. She was only two so hopefully she would be able to manage throwing red rose petals behind her down the aisle. If not, I'm sure Matt would step in to save the day.

"Alright, I'm done." Mom announced and took a step back from me. "What do you think ladies?"

"Beautiful."

"Gorgeous."

"Lovely." Penny finished the chorus of praises with a big smile. "Oh! I'm so happy you've tamed my son!"

With that said we launched ourselves at each other simultaneously and held each other tight. Penny was going to be an awesome mother in law, especially now that she was going to move back to La Push to be closer to any future Grandchildren. The boys were already hard at work renovating the Mire's old house down the road from ours, and soon it would be ready for Penny to move back in.

"Alright let's go knock him dead!" Dad cheered from the doorway efficiently ending the hug fest.

The four of them trickled out of the room, eventually leaving just me and my Dad standing there looking at each other from across the room. He looked handsome in his dark suit and red tie. He really was a good looking guy; his silver hair worked well for him and with his suit on you could hardly see the little belly he had developed over years of Mom's cooking.

"You look suave and debonair, Dad." I smiled as he crossed the room towards me.

"And you look beautiful, daughter." He grinned and I swear I saw his eyes glisten.

Not even Mom had been teary eyed! What was this? Was my big bad Father, who practically forced me on Paul, getting all emotional on me?

"Dad, are you crying?"

"Yes, dammit. You're my little girl."

"Shut up you're going to make me ruin my makeup and then Mom will kick us both in the ass." I laughed trying to hold back my own tears.

"Natalie, I know I made it clear how much I wanted this for you but it's still a bittersweet moment for me. I know how much he loves you and I know he'll take good care of you. But I'm finally giving up all my rights as your protector."

"I understand, Dad." I smiled before I reached up and placed a kiss on his smooth cheek. "Now let's go knock 'em dead!"

With my arm through his, Dad and I made our way down the stairs and outside to the aisle way. I glanced up before the music started to play and saw Paul and Steve waiting for me up there as well as my two best friends and their husbands. Then I gently nudged Abby into action and we were off up the aisle to my wolf.

The petal throwing went better than expected, but at the end of the aisle she realized that she had no more petals to throw and started to cry. Thankfully Matt reacted fast and sprung out of his chair to scoop up the red faced little girl so Dad and I could finish our walk to where Paul was waiting.

"Who gives this woman to this man?"

"Her mother and I." Dad said proudly, tears in his eyes, as he placed my hand in Paul's.

That was only the beginning of the water works for me, and once I looked up into Paul's after that I was lost. Good thing Mom had the common sense to use waterproof.

***

"Did I mention how beautiful you were in that dress?" Paul whispered into my ear.

I shivered as his warm breath hit my neck and snuggled into his chest. We were in Seattle for our honeymoon at the newlywed suite that Paul insisted on getting for me and it was already the morning after we were married. Last night had been great. Once we had left the reception we had driven to Seattle in good time and immediately jumped into bed together.

"About a million times." I replied.

"Did I mention how beautiful you are without anything on?" He chuckled devilishly before he rolled on top of me.

"Show me."

"With pleasure, Mrs. Mire."

We finally decided to roll out of bed around ten and after another hour of getting dressed and eating some breakfast we headed out into the city for some site seeing and shopping. I was sure that Paul wasn't too thrilled about the shopping aspect, but with a flash of the puppy eyes he would be game for anything.

"I want to go into that baby store!" I announced suddenly as I spotted the sign for Marley's Baby Boutique.

"Why?"

"Because some day we're going to have a kid and I don't get into the city that often to get fancy baby stuff." I replied easily as I started to pull him towards the store.

He didn't put up a fight after that explanation and followed me inside the store. I was pretty sure that most couples did not spend their honeymoon looking for baby stuff, but I had a feeling that I was going to come home pregnant from this weekend so I figured I should be prepared for it.

Paul stayed quiet as I looked around at all the little clothes and shoes, but when I finally spotted what I knew I had to have he decided to look interested.

I had found frames that had a place to engrave the baby's name and birthday and held about five pictures. They were really nice steel frames and I knew that if I didn't buy some now I probably never would find them again.

"We need to get some of these." I told Paul.

"How many?" He asked as he inspected the frames curiously.

"Three? Just in case."

He smirked, "Sounds good, Nat."

"Can I help you two with anything? Are you two expecting a baby?" The lady asked with a wide smile.

"No we're not, but were just preparing for the future." I replied with my own smile as I grabbed Paul's free hand with my own. "We just got married yesterday."

"Oh! Congratulations! I do believe that that earns you a forty percent discount today."

"Oh we couldn't, what would your boss say?"

"Well since I am Marley, I don't think there will be any problem. Come on and we'll get those rung up."

We both left that store with huge smiles on our faces. I knew why I was smiling, but I was pretty sure Paul's was a combination of saving money and the fact that I was actively planning for babies so soon.

***

"So how was the honeymoon sex?" Mom asked casually as she placed the lunches she had made the two of us on my desk. Yes, she was talking about sex in my third grade classroom. Was I surprised? Not really.

"Keep it down Mom; we're in an elementary school." I hissed. "But if you must know…it was great."

"Did you try shower sex?"

I couldn't help the ridiculous smile that appeared on my face at that memory.

"That's a yes." She smiled. "You still have that honeymoon glow about you."

"I should, we just got back last night."

"If I were you I would have called in sick and broke in every room in the house."

"Oh my gosh! I love you and everything Mom, but seriously? There is a line, woman!"

"Once you've been married a while and have kids you'll understand." She shrugged.

I shuddered at the thought; I could not let myself turn into my Mom. I did not want to scar my children for life. If they asked then I would tell them, but I would not volunteer information like that. Like I said before, that shit is life scarring.

"So get this, Nat. Matt hooked up with Paul's cousin, Daisy."

"Whoa what?!" I almost choked on my turkey sandwich. "As in he had sex with her?"

"Yup." She smiled. "Can't say I blame him, he has to wait years for Abby. No one can expect him to keep it in his pants the entire time."

"So it was just a casual romp? He's not going to start a relationship with her is he?"

"Even your brother is smarter than that. He knows that a woman would just be hurt in the end when they realized that he couldn't really be with them."

"Hmm, maybe I don't want any of my future daughters to be imprinted on."

"There's only one wolf left honey."

"What? Last I checked Collin and Brady were-"

"Brady imprinted after you guys left the reception. I bet Paul is finding out right about now that Brady imprinted on Daisy's little sister, Rose."

"I guess my wedding was a hot bed for drama huh?"

Mom smiled, "That it was."


	16. Chapter 16

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**

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to There for Tomorrow

**Thanks again to all of my faithful reviewers! I just wanted to warn you that this story is coming to an end, but it is possible that maybe I will write a sequel, but you'll have to wait and see what it will be about. :D**

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"_You say you always keep your word,_

_So me what you're after just a little faster."_

**A Little Faster**

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Positive.

And I wasn't talking about my blood type.

"Paul!"

I was pretty sure this morning when I ran to the bathroom to empty my stomach of its contents that my prediction about my honeymoon had been true. And that was why I had had the sense to buy a few pregnancy tests.

"What? Are you alright?" He asked a bit breathlessly as both he and Steve appeared in the doorway of the downstairs bathroom.

I spun around to face him, still holding the pregnancy test in my hand. Paul's eyes darted to it real fast before his chocolate eyes met mine again.

"Is that… are you…?"

"I'm pregnant." I smiled before I threw down the test and launched myself at Paul.

He caught me and held me tight as I wrapped my legs around his waist and crashed my lips down onto his. I really wanted a baby, especially with this wonderful hunk of man. He seemed to be just as happy about it as I was as his tongue met mine and he shooed Steve away with his foot.

We could have stayed there in the bathroom making out like that forever, but it was a school day and I had already wasted time taking the test.

"Paul, I've got to get to work."

"Take the day off, we need to celebrate."

It was very tempting, but I had to be reasonable, "We can celebrate tonight, Paul. We're doing show and tell today."

He sighed before he lowered be back to the floor. But before he released me he lowered one of his hands to my belly and stared into my eyes. In that moment I fell even more in love with Paul Mire…if that was even possible. His eyes were filled with wonder, and love for me and for the life we had made together.

"I love you, Natalie."

"Love you too, Paul."

***

Once our parents were told we didn't have to say anything else, we just let them do the work for us. So by the next day everyone knew that next July Paul and I were going to be welcoming a baby into the world.

Then the time flew. Paul was busy with construction work as well as getting the house ready for a baby. He had shut off one of the other rooms which we were going to turn into the baby's room and told me I wasn't allowed in until it was finished. While he did all that, I busied myself with third grade lesson plans and class projects as well as the occasional doctor visits to check up on the newest member of the Mire family.

My third graders were just as excited as we were. Every day I had to miss for a doctor's appointment they wanted details the next day, and they wanted to see the sonograms. It got to the point where, Lena the class busy body, started to have everyone write down names for the baby; and so started the name jar that sat on the edge of my desk. I was not allowed to look at the names until Lena said so and she had informed me that would be right before school ended for the year.

The name jar was starting to look pretty promising for a source because Paul and I couldn't think of anything. Yeah, he had had no problem naming our dog Steve, but talk about an actual human being and he could think of nothing. For now our little boy or girl was referred to as mini Mire by all.

"So what are you going to do while I go to my baby shower?" I questioned as I gathered up my purse and keys.

Paul and Steve were camped out in the living room together watching baseball. Paul was sprawled out in his easy chair and Steve was right at his feet watching the game along with him.

"I'll probably finish watching the game and then go work on the baby's room." He replied.

"So what's going to happen when I bring all of the baby stuff home tonight? Will I be able to go in then?"

He grinned, "Nope, I'll take care of it all."

"You suck."

"Love you too, Nat." He smiled.

He then got up out of his chair and walked over to me. As had become his habit over the past seven months he rested a hand on my swollen belly as he leaned down to press a sweet kiss to my lips.

"Have fun alright?"

"I will." I assured him. "It's not going to be like my wedding shower."

I grimaced as I remembered the gifts my Mother had given me for the wedding shower. Even worse had been the gifts at my bachelorette party. Not only had there been even more sex books, but penis shaped cookies. I was beginning to think she was a nymphomaniac. Great, a nymphomaniac grandma; what a combination.

Thankfully the girls had refrained from those nasty baby shower games such as name the candy bar. The idea of a squished up candy bar in a diaper was gross, especially to someone like me who just wanted a plain old candy bar all the time. The whole shindig was classy and very helpful. Not only had I received some baby things that we were in dire need of, but Emily had given me a baby name book that had been her life saver when Beatrice came along.

"I wanted to give her a name that wasn't so common anymore." Emily smiled.

"I agree; I don't want an Ashley running around." I replied.

The whole shower had been done at Emily's house, and while it had been guy free for the most part Sam had come back early with Joel to help load up all my baby stuff into my car.

"Or you could just pick from your jar." She chuckled.

"I'm actually really considering it." I sighed. "Now that I have this book I'll probably flip through and highlight a couple, but I'm still consulting that damn jar."

"I bet it's full of names like Jimmy and stuff, Nat." Kim stated as she walked up to us ready to go with both girls clinging on to her. Well, Abby was…Addy was content to be snuggled up in her Mommy's arms.

"I do have some articulate kids in my class, Kim. Take Lena for example. She may be a busy body, but she is pretty smart."

"Aren't most busy bodies smart?" Emily asked.

"You get my point."

"What does Paul say about the baby name jar?" Penny asked as she joined our little group. A second later Mom joined the ranks, leaving Sam to do all the hard work.

"If there's a name in there we both like he doesn't care." I replied.

"I still think if it's a boy you should name him after your father." Mom added.

"I am not naming any son of mine James, Mom. It's a nice name, but Dad has told me he does not want me doing it."

She huffed. My Mom was one of those ladies that named her kids after somebody. My first name came from her great grandmother and my middle name came from my Dad's great aunt. As for Matt, he'd been named after some grandpas from both sides of the family. I wasn't completely against this idea, but I didn't see why I couldn't have fun with the first name and have the middle name be representative of family.

I shrugged, "I probably won't decide until I'm holding mini Mire for the first time anyway."

***

June first: approximately one month until delivery and the last day of school, which meant it was time for me to take a peek inside the name jar! The kids in my class were excited about the end of the year party, but I was more excited about seeing what a bunch of seven and eight year olds thought I should name my kid.

"Lena, is it time?" I asked a bit impatiently.

The day was almost over and I had already endured a half hour of Bingo, no bake cookie riots, and spraying orange soda bottles. None of those factors mixed well with a woman eight months pregnant. Especially not this pregnant lady.

"You can look through them now, Mrs. Mire. But you have to pick a favorite boy and girl name, tell us what it is, and say who put it in."

If I wasn't so eager to get at the names I probably would have been annoyed by the fact that an eight year old was bossing me around. So while I dug into the names the kids continued playing board and card games while munching on the cookies and other snacks Paul had helped me make for today.

It didn't take me too long to get through the names especially since many of them had been Barbie and Ken, not to mention a lot of kids that had suggested their own names. Sweet, but no. I was beginning to despair that I would never find two decent ones when I was finally proved wrong. A quick look at the back of the papers revealed that they were both from Lena; figured.

"Alright guys. Although I seriously debated over Barbie I had to go with Lena's recommendations on both counts. Violet and Jackson. Thanks to all of you for giving me great ideas th-" the bell cut me off. "Have a great summer everyone! Be safe! Wear sunscreen! Read!"

***

"I got to look inside the name jar today." I announced at dinner.

"Find any good ones?"

"Barbie and Ken." I laughed. "Seriously though…Violet and Jackson. I'm not sure if I love them but they're a start."

"Hmm Violet…" Paul mused. "I was looking through the baby book earlier and came across Viola."

"Viola Mire." I said testing it out. "It's a possibility."

"And we could always go with Paul junior." Paul chuckled.

"You wish."

"Jack instead of Jackson?"

"Jack Mire."

Paul shrugged which in turn caused me to set down my fork rather forcefully.

"I guess we'll just decide when he or she decides to come since you can't make up your damn mind."

"Whoa there, Jekyll. Give me back my wife."

I had been having some hardcore mood swings lately, but thankfully he never took them to heart. I said some pretty mean things, but he usually just took a breath before he pulled me into his arms or cracked a joke like just now.

"I'm sorry. My feet, back, hell my entire body just aches."

"I'll give you a massage after dinner, okay Nat?"

"Sounds good."

I really had hit the jackpot with my husband. Every guy out there needed to imprint, because this was truly the way a wife should be treated.

***

My luck truly sucked; that had been the general rule of thumb my entire life. Just when I think things are looking up something always would happen to knock me back into reality and most of the time it dealt with my luck…or lack thereof.

So since I had no luck at all I was all alone when I felt the first contraction. I wasn't worried though, I knew that it would be a while before active labor especially since my water hadn't even broken yet. So I settled down to watch a movie with Steve by my side. It was already four, so I knew Paul would be home in about an hour in a half and I doubted I would need to go to the hospital before that.

But as luck would have it there was no sign of Paul around five thirty five when he was supposed to be home. Steve was edgy once five forty five rolled around and became even edgier when I let out a moan of pain at the contraction that ripped through my womb.

"Where the hell are you Paul?" I growled.

Steve barked at me then and in the process knocked some sense into me. It was obvious that I wasn't going to make it until Paul got home so I decided it was time to call my Mommy. And just as I reached for the phone my water broke; Steve did not like that.

"Steve, shh! It's okay baby. Go lie down alright?" I soothed as I frantically dialed my parent's number.

Steve, of course, did not go lie down. He stayed right by my side and watched me closely just like the protector he was. Paul would be so proud.

"Hanner residence." Dad answered just as another contraction hit me.

"Daddy!" I gasped and I knew I had his attention. If the gasp hadn't done it, then the 'daddy' part had, because I hadn't called him that in a very long time. "My water broke and Paul isn't home!"

"Calm down, I'll be right over alright? Your Mom and Penny went into Port Angeles so it's just you and me, Nat."

"I need my Mommy."

"Calm down, I'm coming to get you. Find out where your husband is!"

He then hung up on me. Great not only was my husband MIA but my Mom and his Mom were conveniently out of town! Not that I didn't love my Dad, but if it came down to it I did not want to hold his hand while I had this baby.

"Damn you Paul!" I screamed causing Steve to bark at me.

"Shh, it's okay; I'm just freaking out and having a baby here."

I took a big calming breath and dialed Sam's cell phone. The guys were supposed to be near Forks today working on a house and if anyone knew where Paul was it was going to be Sam, his boss.

"Sam Uley."

"Sam! Do you know where Paul is?!"

"Is that you Natalie?" He asked.

"Yes! And I am having his freaking baby, so do you know where his is!?"

"He's not home?"

"No! Oh shit." I cried.

"Natalie, do you have someone to take you to the hospital?" Sam asked calmly.

"My Dad is coming."

"Alright, you take care of yourself and that baby while I hunt your husband down alright?"

"Thank you, Sam."

"No problem."

Once I hung up the phone my Dad charged into the house like a man possessed. I had to chuckle a bit despite the situation because I don't think I had ever seen him move so fast in my adult life. He used to be active when I was a kid, but once I hit my teen years his ass had been glued to his chair.

"Get my bag, it's on the bed." I instructed as I slipped on my flip flops and carefully moved towards the door, Steve following right behind me.

"Alright, I got it let's go!"

I grabbed Dad's arm for support and we started to shut the door behind us when Steve worked his way through the crack.

"Steve! Get back inside!" Dad screeched.

"He doesn't want to leave me Dad."

"Alright we'll bring him with us, but there's no way we're getting him into the hospital."


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for things you do not recognize. Song credit to Relient K**

**Keep in mind that I have never given birth and don't plan on it for a long time so it may not be accurate. And this is the last chapter! Thanks to all my reviewers for sticking through it, and hopefully you'll stick around for what I have planned next.**

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"_This is the best thing,_

_  
the best thing that could be happening,_

_And I think you would agree_

_The best thing is that it's happening to you and me."_

**The Best Thing**

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Steve was not happy about being left in my Dad's car; in fact he tried to push past my Dad a few times while he tried to shut the door. But eventually all it had taken to keep him in there was my stern voice; the voice that always seemed to work on both him and Paul.

"Alright Mrs. Mire you're about seven centimeters along here, so I'd say in about a half hour you'll be ready to go."

"But my husband isn't here yet!" I protested.

"There's still time, honey." Dad said soothingly from my side.

Thankfully I wasn't a complete mess, but that was only because we had made it in time for me to get some pain medicine. Otherwise I was sure that I would be hysterical. Paul could not miss this. Where the hell was he? And boy when he got here I was going to tear him a new one for making me be alone with my Dad through this.

Not that I didn't appreciate my Dad, but I wanted my husband with me when I pushed out his freaking baby.

"But what if he doesn't make it, Dad?" I asked as tears welled up in my eyes again as I looked up into my Dad's eyes.

"Then I'll be right here with you, Nat."

That made me cry harder. Hell, I was such a mess.

"I love you Dad."

"I love you too, swe-"

"Where is my wife?! Mire! Natalie Mire! Yes I am her husband! Who else would I be?!"

Dad and I exchanged glances; his was full of relief and I was pretty sure mine was too. I guess the feeling had been mutual. He didn't want to be in here as I gave birth just as much as I didn't want him to be. It would have been awkward, that's for sure.

Then Paul ran into the room like he was possessed and immediately grabbed my hand in his much larger one. I smiled up at him before I remembered just how pissed I was at him.

"I'm sorry, Nat. So so sorry! I drove to Port Angeles to get the mobile for the nursery and then Matt found me on the road back home and I phased and ran here as fast as I could."

"Well I guess that explains the leaves in your hair." Dad chuckled before he walked out of the room.

"It's alright." I managed to smile as another contraction hit me. "But if you would have missed this I would have killed you."

"I would never miss this, Nat." He replied before he placed a gentle kiss on my lips. "How much longer?"

"Not much, Mr. Mire. You got here just in time." Dr. Lang said as she walked back into the room. "You caused quite a stir with the nursing staff too, but at least you are here."

"Yup."

The two of us were silent as Dr. Lang examined me again and when she came back up she was smiling. Not going to lie…smiling after just looking at my lady parts had to be one of the creepiest things I'd seen.

"Yes, you were definitely right on time because this baby is ready to come now." She stated before she started issuing orders to a nurse.

"You ready for this?" Paul asked as he stroked the hair off my sweaty forehead.

"Do I have a choice?"

He chuckled, "Nope."

***

After nine months of carrying my baby around and one day of absolute panic I finally had her in my arms. Yes, her. Our little girl. Paul had cried a little when she was born and me… I had balled. I was already emotional, combined with the fact that I was a Mommy, and the fact that Paul was crying was just too much for me to take in. But now as the three of us sat in my hospital room the tears were gone and instead Paul was grinning like an idiot and I was smiling tiredly as she suckled from my breast.

"So what are we going to name her?" Paul asked as he ran a finger over her hand. She immediately grabbed onto his finger and held on tight as she continued to drink.

"I think she looks like a Viola don't you?" I smiled.

"Viola Lee?" Paul suggested.

"Who's name is Lee?"

"That's my Mom's middle name."

"Alright then, Viola Lee Mire." I smiled.

After that she was done suckling and Paul took her out of my arms so I could finally get some rest. I definitely needed it because everyone would be here in about an hour.

When I opened my eyes I was surrounded. Jeez, how long had they been here while I was asleep? Paul was the first to notice I was awake and while Viola was meeting her Grandparents he sat down on the edge of my bed and leaned down to press a gentle kiss to my forehead.

"We're here to see the baby!" Matt announced loudly as he and the rest of the young wolves walked into the room followed by Kim, Emily, and their families. This was it; this was the moment of truth. If my baby was going to be an imprint, this was the time.

My eyes sought out Collin and I found him by Matt watching as Matt carefully took his niece into his arms for the first time. I watched his face closely, but nothing happened. In a way I was relieved, but I still couldn't help but feel a small pang of disappointment that my daughter wouldn't experience the kind of love I had.

"Looks like Collin is safe for now." Paul said with a happy smile.

Jared shot him a glare; the poor guys still wasn't taking having both of his daughter's imprinted on well. I knew Paul was practically ecstatic that we had Viola all to ourselves. In fact, I hated to see what would have happened to Collin if he had imprinted on our daughter.

***

"Baby!" Joel giggled excitedly as I passed off Viola to Emily.

Emily, Joel, and Bee had arrived at the house a few minutes ago to see Viola again, or as Paul had already started to call her: Lala. It was cute watching Joel interact with his little sister, but as soon as I relinquished my hold on Viola to his mother, he ignored his sister and crawled up next to Emily.

"This is little Viola, Joel." Emily smiled.

"Uncle Paul calls her Lala." I inserted with a smile of my own as I picked up Bee from where she sat in her carrier. She was a chubby little one year old, but completely adorable. Jake was a complete mush ball around this little Uley, and I couldn't really blame him.

"Lala!" Joel yelled, effectively waking her up.

Emily and I both waited for her to start crying, but instead her dark brown eyes stared straight up at Joel in wonder. She was fascinated by him, which was fine by me, as long as she wasn't crying.

"Wuv you Lala!" Joel smiled before he bent to give her a kiss on the forehead.

"Oh this is so adorable!" I cried. "Where is my camera when I need it?"

"You better attach one to your person at all times, otherwise you'll miss photo opportunities left and right." Emily stated as I heard a car door slam from outside.

"Honey! I'm home!" Paul called as the front door swung open.

Steve barked excitedly and greeted him by the door before he led Paul into the living room where we were camped out holding each other's babies.

"How are my girls today?" He questioned with a big grin before he leaned down to give me a sweet kiss on the lips. He tickled Bee's tummy before he stood back up straight and greeted Emily and Joel.

"Can I see my daughter, Em?"

"Of course."

"I wanna hold her!" Joel yelled.

The three of us adults exchanged glances, but Paul acted first. He carefully took Lala out of Emily's hands and went to sit down in his big easy chair.

"Alright, come sit on my lap, Joel."

Emily and I watched as Joel bounded up on Paul's lap all the while being careful of the baby. Once he was settled in Paul arranged her so she was lying in Joel's lap, with Paul's hand supporting her fragile neck.

"Oh! I have to get the camera!" I cried as I passed Bee back to her mom.

When I came back Joel was singing something to her that made absolutely no sense but was still completely adorable. Paul watched the two of them with a broad smile, but quickly turned his smile to me as I snapped the picture.

"You may have gotten off easy now, Paul Mire." Emily began. "But I think that there's something special between those two; we'll just have to wait and see what the future holds."

Was she implying that maybe someday in the future her son and my daughter would start a relationship? If so, then I wasn't exactly opposed to it. If fate decided she wasn't to be an imprint, then I wanted her to have the next best thing; a good man. And any son raised by Sam and Emily Uley would most definitely fit that description.

Hours later I waited in bed while Paul went to check on Viola one more time before we went to sleep. He came in a few minutes later with a broad smile on his face that quickly turned into a devilish grin when he saw what I was wearing, or lack thereof.

"Mmm Mrs. Mire, has it been six weeks already?"

"Why yes it has, Mr. Mire. But before we resume our business dealings I wanted to ask you something. What would you think if in the future Lala ended up with Joel?"

He sighed, "Nat, she's just a baby and he's just a toddler."

"But wouldn't it be perfect?!"

He rolled his eyes, "What is it with woman and matchmaking schemes?"

"I'm just worried about the happiness of our daughter." I pouted and burrowed myself down into the covers. Paul did not like that and growled before he jumped onto the bed with me.

"For now let's worry about her happiness growing up, and we'll deal with boys and hormones much later, okay?"

How could I not agree with him kissing a trail up the side of my neck? He let his lips hover over mine, tempting me with laughing eyes.

"Fine."

"Now, where were we?"

***

It was always nice knowing that you were right about something. Okay so maybe it hadn't been completely confirmed yet, but I had a pretty good feeling about Viola and Joel. Yeah so she was only four and he was seven, but it was just so obvious.

I heard a squeal from outside and quickly looked up to see both Steve and Joel racing after my pudgy little four year old. She was a little on the chubby side, but that was because all she had to do was smile at Paul and he would cave and give her cookies. He was getting better though, and I was sure that by the time she grew out of her baby fat stage she wouldn't have those chubby cheeks anymore.

Another cry of quite a different kind drew me out of my ponderings about Lala and Joel as I quickly headed into the living room where the play pin was set up and little Ian was sleeping…or had been anyway. He was barely one year old and already he looked almost exactly like Paul had when he was this age. Penny loved it and so did Paul who still liked to say that we should have named him Paul Junior.

I had just reached the play pin when Steve ran up and looked in at the baby protectively. Steve was so protective of our children, so I wasn't surprised that he had run in at the sound of a cry. Ian was probably just hungry, but that didn't stop Steve from doing his duty to his family. Yet again I must state that Steve is the best dog ever. Which is why we studded him out to Jared and Kim's new German Shepherd, Amy, who was now pregnant.

"It's alright Steve, he's just hungry." I soothed as I gently picked up my baby. "Go back to Lala and Joel and keep an eye on them okay?"

The best part about Steve was that I knew he would come to me immediately if anything happened to the two playing outside while I quickly fed Ian. Not only did I trust him, but he'd done it before when Paul had been left to watch over the two of them playing in the back yard.

I was in the middle of feeding Ian when I heard Steve's happy barks; Paul must be home. Sure enough the high pitched 'Daddy' confirmed my suspicion. A few minutes later Paul walked in with Lala on his hip pressing kisses to his cheek while Steve and Joel trailed in after him.

"Hey, Nat." Paul smiled before he quickly bent down to press a light kiss on my lips. I would have pulled him in for more, but both of us had a child in our arms. Plus Joel was looking up at us expectantly, probably because it was time for him to go back home.

"How was your day?" I asked.

"Great. Sam should be along in a minute to get Joel."

"No! Joel can't leave!" Lala yelled as she started to thrash around in Paul's arms.

He quickly set her down and she immediately embraced Joel. He hugged her back just as fiercely, like they did everyday when it was time for him to go. And every day I gave Paul a pointed look to which he just rolled his eyes.

"You'll see him again tomorrow, Viola." Paul said sternly, which always worked in breaking the two of them apart.

She pouted, but as always an hour after he was gone she was smiling and playing with Paul and Steve yet again as if nothing had ever happened. Paul may not like it, but I was pretty sure that Emily's prediction about our children was going to end up coming true.

The End…for now


End file.
